Familiar Stranger
by Namine3419
Summary: Kisara, a new girl to Domino City, gets a low paying job as a maid for some Corporate big shot. What she doesn't know is the destiny that has existed for over a millenia is about to unravel once more. SetoXKisara Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Familiar Stranger**

**By Lindsay R. Honosky**

**Chapter One: Running Late**

"Kisara. . .?" He tapped his foot outside her door impatiently, looking at his watch once more. Ten past the hour; at this rate she was going to be late. Again.

"Kisara, come on! How much sleep do you possibly need?" His answer was a soft _thud_ from the other side of the door. Mahad sighed; she could be so difficult, "You know I could just break the door down, right?"

"Mmmmm!" The muffled, angry reply came from further inside the room, but was unmistakably that of his childhood friend. A few more loud clangs and crashes and the door clicked to the unlocked position. Mahad stifled a laugh when he saw what was inside. Her hair was a mess; like a poorly maintained blond Barbie. Well, almost blond; more brown than that. Anyway, she was looking at him with her usual "I'm going to kill you" morning look, blue eyes still hazy with sleep, when the relation of his presence hit her. "Oh. . .! Oh no!" She shrieked, eyes widening suddenly, "What time is it?!"

"A little past ten--"

"Oh man, oh man!" She rushed back inside her room, slamming the door behind her. In that sea of decay she somehow managed to find her work uniform, slip it on, comb through her hair, and rush back out, only to have her arm grabbed by Mahad. "What?!" She snapped, almost falling.

"You forgot your cell," he said calmly, brown eyes laughing though his lips gave no hint of a smile. Fishing it out of his pocket, he tossed the little phone to her other hand and let go, watching as she almost rammed into the opposite wall. He sighed as she rushed down the stairs out of the tiny apartment, "And be careful!" He shouted, thought doubted his words were heard over the loud slam.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Oh man, I'm going to get fired and I haven't even gone through my first day yet!_ She ran as fast as her legs could go, and that wasn't very fast, considering the ridiculous maid uniform she'd been issued. Thankfully she decided to keep to her Chuck's instead of the uncomfortable pumps that the woman _insisted_ she wear. "I can't believe I took this job," she mumbled between strides, a stitch developing in her side. They were bad off, though, she and Mahad. Finally old enough to leave the orphanage on their own, the two decided it would be better to stick together until both were able to stand on their own two feet. However, Kisara knew it was just because Mahad had a major big brother complex, which was fine with her; he'd always acted like her big brother anyway, why would he stop now?

Domino City was such a huge place, so much different from where they had come from. Sure, Virginia had its cities, but nothing that could be called a metropolis such as this. The buildings towered higher than she could see, and the streets were constantly crowded with people of all shapes and sizes. Food courts and shopping malls dominated most of what she saw, but every-so-often she spotted a game zone or something like that with pictures of monsters in the windows. Duel Monsters, or something like that; she was never really interested. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Once upon a time she was, but then he left, and she stopped caring about them so much.

Rounding a corner, she had to stop. "Damn," she said, realizing she had no idea where she was. Leave it to her to forget where one of the most famous buildings in the entire city was. She traced the window of her cell phone, wondering if she would swallow her pride enough to ask Mahad the directions again. She was about to press the speed dial when she heard a shout, or more like a scream. Down the alley a little in front of her was a child, a little boy or girl with long black hair, running as fast as it could go. Two men were behind him, dressed in dark clothing and sunglasses, wielding knives. Kisara was about to call for help when the child tripped, the men gaining fast.

She didn't wait for anyone.

Reacting before thinking, she tossed her cell as hard as she could at the first man, hitting him square in the face. He stumbled, knocking his partner off-balance long enough for Kisara to reach the kid. It was a boy, at least twelve, with deep indigo eyes full of terror. Reaching out her hand, she shouted, "Come on!" Grasping her hand, Kisara practically lifted the boy and began sprinting into the open. They wouldn't mess with them around a bunch of people.

Well, they wouldn't have, if the two goons hadn't appeared in front of them. Dressed similarly to the ones behind them, who where now coming from behind, the two new guys began closing in, sinister smiles on both of their lips. The one to the right began to speak, "That's far enough, Mokuba. You're ours now."

"Stuff it, loser! When my brother finds out--!"

"Well, we certainly hope he finds out," said one of the guys from behind, "otherwise we'll have no money."

The man with the cell phone indention in his face grabbed Kisara by the arm, twisting savagely, "We don't need this bitch!" He growled, "We can kill her here and now!" She yelped as pain laced up her arm, forcing her to the ground.

_Great, _she thought, _I'm going to die in a maid uniform while this poor kid gets kidnapped._

The boy she barely knew, Mokuba, began hitting the man holding her, "No! Let her go! She's got nothing to do with this--! Hey!" One of them grabbed the boy around the waist, lifting him as he kicked and screamed.

One of the men knelled down and lifted her face with his hand, "Why kill her just now?" He licked his lips, a starved, dangerous look creeping over his face, "Why not have a little fun first?"

A whole new fear took hold of her, and she couldn't stop the "no" that escaped from her lips.

"Yeah," laughed the man holding her, "_then_ we'll kill her." The others joined in, all laughing over Mokuba's shouts and cries. The man lifted her back to her feet and slammed her against the wall, "Check it out, boys! She even wore a sexy maid outfit for us today," he traced his finger down her face, "did you do that just for us?"

His answer was a face full of spit.

"You little whore!" Before she knew it the back of his hand slammed into her face, splitting her lip. She glared at him, determined not to appear any weaker than she already was. The man laughed, "You got a lot of heart, kid," the same hand that had just slapped her began creeping up her leg, "let's see what else you got."

"I don't think so, buddy!" Before Kisara could see who the new voice was, her harasser flew to the left, a green blur leaping after him. There was another grunt, a shout, and another new man standing in the alley. His hair was standing on end, like a brown pyramid, his fists firmly clenched around one of the thug's collars. Mokuba was standing behind him, a girl with brown hair cheering them on. Another one of the thugs went after the guy in the green jacket, who was still on the creep who tried to, well, do things to her. Clenching her teeth, Kisara rammed her body into the on comer, causing him to flip over and land on his back. The wind was knocked clear out of his lungs.

Satisfied that his first target was unconscious, he turned to the final goon, who was creeping out of the alley, "Where do ya think you're goin', huh?" He was about to run after him when Kisara grabbed him around the waist.

"Don't!" She said, the man disappearing from view, "they had knives. If you ran after them, you would've gotten hurt."

"Oh, uh. . ." He was blushing, brown eyes growing soft under a mess of blond hair. He started to scratch the back of his head, a goofish smile on his face, "Aw, I would've been fine, miss! Are uh," he looked more serious now, "are you okay?"

"Joey!" The girl who was standing behind the other guy came running, Mokuba hot on her heels, "Are you alright? What in the world were you thinking?! Didn't you see the knives they had? What if you'd have gotten hurt?! What would I have told Serenity, huh?" She punched him in the arm, "You stupid jerk!"

"Téa, hey! Come on, I'm fine. And what would you have done, huh? They were gonna kill, uh. . ." He laughed again, looking at Kisara, "What was your name again?"

"Huh? Oh!" Snapping out of her thoughts, she realized they were all looking at her.

Mokuba jumped in front of Joey, a concerned look in his eye, "Are you alright, miss? I mean, they didn't hurt you, did they? I'm so sorry; my brother'll add an extra bonus along with an award to your pay."

"M-my pay?" She asked, staring blankly at him. Then she remembered the big KC on her apron, and a light went off in her head, "Kaiba! You're Mokuba Kaiba!"

"You didn't know that? Don't you work for my brother and me at our mansion?"

She shook her head, "No, well, technically I do. I start today--"

"And you just jumped in, not knowing who I was, and saved me?" He smiled warmly, "You're a really nice lady, uh. . .?"

"Kisara," she said, smiling. "So you're my boss, huh? That's convenient, though."

"How come?"

"I, ah," she laughed quietly, "I forgot where your house was."

"Is everyone alright?" The other man joined them now, "The losers ran away; why don't you hang out with us for awhile, Mokuba? Hey!" His eyes quickly darted to Kisara, scanning every inch of her, "Who do we have here?"

"Back off, lover boy!" Téa growled, shoving him away with her hand.

Joey gritted his teeth, "How can you be head over heels for my sister and then go flirt with some girl you don't even know?" He jumped on the guy, "I outta brain you!"

"Joey! Tristan! Oh," Mokuba sighed, "forget it."

Kisara started laughing, "Are they always so energetic?"

"Unfortunately," Téa said, smirking, "hey, Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum! We gotta go meet Yugi and Mr. Moto! We're going to be late!" The two broke off instantly, looking a little ashamed of themselves. Téa rolled her eyes, "Anyway, why don't you two come with us? We're meeting Yugi and his grandpa for lunch. I'm sure after what you two've been through you're hungry."

"Oh, I don't know, I have to get to work--"

"Think of it this way," Mokuba said pointedly, "if you're with me, you _are_ working. Think of yourself as my personal guardian."

"_Aw_," Joey said, pinching Mokuba's cheeks, "Does the widdle Mokuba need a babysitta?" He and Tristan began laughing hysterically.

"N-no! Shut up!" His face was growing redder and redder by the second.

It reached its peak when Kisara took his arm in hers, "Or you could be _my_ personal escort, seeing since those two are clearly not gentlemen." This time she, Téa, and Mokuba laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny. We're gonna be late, lets go!" Tristan shouted, running a little ahead. They all followed, Téa giving an esaperated sigh as he started to go down the wrong street.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was a cute café, an outside McDonald's actually, though she couldn't really enjoy it, dressed the way she was. Kisara, sharing a table of three with Mokuba and Téa, took in the scene as best she could. Of course, the little restaurant was right in front of a huge KaibaCorp. building, as if it was mocking her and her inability to remember directions. She sipped solemnly at her cola, wondering what type of person this Kaiba was. His little brother was an extremely kind young man, and adorable, even though he'd probably hate you if you told him that. She smiled as she watched him eating his french fries, painting a tiny face with his ketchup that resembled who she thought was Joey, another fry sticking out of the painting's nose.

Téa was finishing her salad when Kisara's cheeseburger came out. "Wow," she said, "it's been a while since I've seen a girl order something like that."

"It's a McDonald's," she said, "it's a sin to come here and not get a burger. With the exception of chicken nuggets, of course."

"Of course," Téa laughed, "well, remind me to get one of those next time."

Over at the other table, the boy named Yugi watched Kisara closely. Something about her was, familiar, but what was it? Leaning over, he whispered to Joey, "Have we seen that girl somewhere before?"

"Huh?" He asked, the worlds smothered by the Big Mac in his mouth, "Whoh? Kisarah?"

"Yeah, she's just so. . . I don't know, maybe I'm just loosing it. I mean," he looked down at the millennium puzzle around his neck, "maybe I'm just going crazy."

"You miss him, don't you?" Mr. Moto asked, putting down his drink.

All he got in response was a weak nod.

Quickly changing the subject, Joey said, "You know, now that you mention it, she does look familiar."

"You don't think. . .?"

"Yug, look at her. She looks just like that girl."

"From the dream world? But how is that possible? The spirit of the blue-eyes was locked away in that tablet."

"Tablet?" Mr. Moto asked, quickly coming out of thought, "You know, now that I think about it. About 19 years ago, I got a letter from one of my old archeologist colleauges. Something about an accident at one of the sites and a few stone tablets breaking."

"What?!" They both screamed, surprising, if not choking, the others in the café.

"What, what?" Tristan snapped, taking a gasp of air.

"Nothing, heh heh," Yugi said, "sorry about that." In a lower tone, he asked his grandpa, "Why didn't you say anything, grandpa? That's important!"

"I didn't think it was at the time. Why is it important?"

Joey laughed sheepishly, "Yeah, Yug, I'm a little lost too."

"It's important because the souls of those who represented those monsters are now free to be reborn into the world." He rubbed his chin, "At least, that's what I think it means."

"So why would that make Kisara familiar?" Joey asked, popping a french fry into his mouth.

Yugi stared at Kisara for a moment longer, "Remember that girl in the dream world? The one being stoned to death in the alley?"

"The chick with white hair?"

"Yeah, the one that priest who looked like Kaiba saved. Don't you think Kisara looks a lot like her?"

Joey looked back over at Kisara, "The hair's different, but the face. . . Now that you mention it, she does look a lot like that girl." His trademark goofy grin sprouted on his face, and he started to laugh.

"What's so funny, Joey?" Yugi asked, confused at the sudden outburst.

"Don't you get it? _I _saved her before Kaiba-boy did! I'm the hero in her story now!" He continued to laugh, while Yugi promptly put his face into his palm.

Mr. Moto just ignored it, "That aside, what do you think this means, Yugi?"

"What does what mean, grandpa?"

"Everything happens for a reason, Yugi. That girl being here is no coincidence. I think it's best we all stay on our toes for now."

As they were contemplating their conversation, Kisara walked over, placing a five-dollar bill on the table, "Um, thank you so much for the lunch, Mr. Moto. I really should be going though--"

He put the five back into her hand, "Why no, my dear, the pleasure was mine. Keep your money; girls eat for free when I'm around."

"Why not grandchildren, grandpa?" Yugi joked, smiling impishly.

"Where are you off to now, Kisara?" Joey asked, leaning back in his chair.

She looked up, "Well, it's not even three yet; I'm supposed to be at 'work'," she sighed, a note of defeat in it, "hopefully I still have a work to go to."

Mokuba appeared behind her, "What are you talking about? You _saved_ me! You'll probably get a promotion as soon as you walk through the door." His face grew concerned again, "You know, you don't have to go to work, if you'd rather go home and rest. It's been a pretty harsh day--"

"No, no. I'm afraid the home would be over due on rent if I didn't go to work!" She laughed at her own joke, but no one else joined in.

"Well, then, I guess I could call a driver to come pick us up. It's not that safe to walk home now, anyway."

Waiting for the car Mokuba had called, Kisara decided to take in more of the city, or at least what she could see around her. It was really a beautiful place, if a little redundant in color. Most of the buildings were either white or gray, the only thing really catching her eye were the bright red and yellow at the top of the Kaiba Corp. building. She wondered why it was like that, as if there was some unspoken need to be noticed. _This guy must have one hell of an ego_. . . She didn't want to cast to many earily judgements, though; if she could go by anything, Mokuba being such a sweet kid had to mean that his brother was an okay guy. Right?

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The house was huge. Bigger than any home had the right to be, or maybe she was just a little bitter since the biggest thing she'd ever lived in was an old high school building turned into an orphanage. Either way, it _was_ an extremely beautiful house, or mansion, whatever it was. Painted white, it had to have been around since at least the 1940's, with beautifully carved columns holding up an archway reminiscent of an entrance to an ancient Greek palace. She stopped counting the windows at thirty-five, and prayed that the window number was not equal to the amount of rooms; cleaning all that would take months, if not years. A lush, vast garden stretched out before the house, giving those coming to the door a sense of calm serenity, if that could even be used as an adjective to describe it. However, it lost some of its loveliness to the massive gate that surrounded the property. Giant metal bars sprouted from the ground as if someone had planted a prison and the buds didn't grow to maturity.

It was getting late, almost nightfall, Kisara noticed as she walked down the small stone path to the door. Mokuba just acted as normal, apparently used to living in such luxury. He stopped here and there to show her a few flowers that he had planted himself, or a small tomato garden he and another servant girl were raising together. He regarded each with such a warm, compassionate smile that Kisara couldn't help but laugh, it was to much. Blushing slightly, he asked, "What's so funny?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing," she said, "you're just so cute, kid." She said, teasingly. She ruffled his hair, causing him to blush even more.

"W-we better get inside. I'm sure Seto's having a fit by now." Smoothing down his hair as best as he could, Mokuba quickened his pace, avoiding eye-contact whenever possible.

The doors came open easier than Kisara had expected, revealing a beautiful crystal, tile floor that practically glittered in the twilight. A spacious rug was set at the doorway, plush and soft on the feet, a deep crimson color absorbing the light (and any dirt) that would touch it. A stairway splitting into two and connecting once more at the upper level stood in the middle of the room, a lovely chandelier hanging gracefully from the ceiling. Paintings and sculptures by countless artists hung on the walls and stood on pedestals, along with a few pots of white and, amazingly, blue roses.

She went to touch one of the blue flowers when a deep, raspy voice echoed down the stairwell, "Mokuba?! Where have you been? I thought'd you'd been--"

"Kidnapped?" Mokuba laughed, scratching the back of his head, "Yeah, um, about that--"

Kisara turned to see a tall, brown-haired man embrace the boy. Apparently he hadn't noticed her, or he was in such a worried state that he didn't care. Breaking his embrace, the man seemed to scan every inch of Mokuba, his eyes reminiscent of a mother's trying to find her son's latest scab, "How did you get away? I got a call from some creep and. . .!" He held him again, "From now on, tell me where you plan on going! If you want to ditch your guards so badly, just come home and _I'll _go with you."

Mokuba laughed, "No you wouldn't, Seto."

Kisara smiled, _So _he's_ Seto Kaiba._ Looking at the man now, she couldn't see the so-called coldhearted duelist who mercilessly crushed his enemies in the playing field and in business. He was even younger than she had pictured him; no more than at least twenty. She watched as the two brothers play fought back and forth, wondering if she should go find something to clean, when Mokuba pointed and said, "--she just jumped in and saved me, Seto. You should've seen it! She nailed that guy right in the nose with her cell phone!"

As soon as he looked up, deep blue eyes locked onto hers. She felt the breath rush clean out of her, as if someone had punched her in the stomach. Memories came flying back, like someone had just tossed a handful of Polaroids at her. The one most prominent was of her, standing at the end of the road, crying as her first friend disappeared from her life, forever. _No_, she thought, blinking, _he can't be. . . can he?_

"You . . .!" Seto froze, unable to believe his eyes. _It's her!_ The girl with white hair and blue eyes stared back at him in his mind, _the girl from the visions! But, how?_


	2. I Knew You When

**Familiar Stranger**

**By Lindsay R. Honosky**

**Chapter Two: I Knew You When**

**Oh man, I have readers! THANK YOU READERS! I was so worried that no one cared about this series anymore that I almost didn't post this story. But since I got your wonderful reviews, I have been motivated to keep it going! Thank you all, and I hope you like this chapter too! (Any feedback would be wonderful, it lets me know someone is reading it, lol).**

"You. . .!" It was the only word that came from him, followed promptly by the most awkward silence she had ever experienced in her life. He just kept staring at her, with those unblinking, breath-taking blue eyes. She knew she had to be blushing, but then she started to get a little angry with him. She stayed quiet for another minute, and then crossed her arms.

"You know, a picture would last longer."

That seemed to work, because Seto's eyes seemed to come back into focus, and he blinked, "Huh? Oh!" Standing abruptly, he almost shouted, "It wasn't what you were thinking--"

"Uh-huh, sure. Anyway, you're Seto Kaiba, right?" She extended her hand, "I'm Kisara, your newest employee." For a moment he hesitated, as if one touch would make her crumble into dust and blow out the window. When he did grab her hand, it was very gently, and he barely even shook it. She smiled at that, "What, would you rather I had given you a high five or something?"

He didn't smile, something told her he rarely did. Instead, he put a hand on his hip and looked away, "No, I just don't normally get such a forward greeting from a maid. How long have you been working here, again? Miss--?"

"Kisara," she laughed slightly, "and today would have been my first day, if I hadn't gotten lost."

He seemed surprised, "You 'got lost'? Didn't whoever hired you give you directions?"

"Um, well, yeah. . ." She looked away, to embarrassed to face him.

Thankfully, he didn't laugh in her face. Instead, she heard something of a relieved note in his voice as he said, "Well, if you hadn't have gotten lost, Mokuba would be in danger now. So I guess I can excuse your mistake just this once."

"Seto!" Mokuba said, sternly, "She saved my life! And all you can do is warn her about not screwing up in the future?" Seto was about to say something back, but the younger Kaiba broke him off, "We are both very grateful to you, Miss Kisara; you put your life on the line for me, and for that we are _both_ eternally grateful." He shot a look at his older brother, as if daring him to say something back.

Only an amused smirk traced his lips, "You're right, Mokuba, how rude of me." And just like that it was gone, replaced by such a cold mask it sent chills down her spin. She wondered what happened to give him such a frigid, hateful face at his age. His eyes changed to the windows, the setting sun turning them almost a black color. Without a word to anyone, he picked up his cell phone and began to dial who Kisara assumed was another employee of his. She couldn't make out what the voice on the other end was saying, but she heard what Seto said all to clearly, "I'll be taking the new girl home tonight. . . Yes, if you wouldn't mind, make sure he get's to bed by ten--"

"Ten?! I'm not eight anymore, Seto--"

"Yes, ten o'clock. . . No, no, I'm sure of it. I haven't been driving in a while and I've been meaning to look into something. . . Yes, you too. . . Goodnight." The phone made a quiet _beep_, but to Kisara it sounded like a thunderclap. Seto looked up at her, simply saying, "Come."

"What?" She just stood there, a little more than shocked. _Is he really going to take me home?_ She smiled at the ludicrous situation of it, _Seto Kaiba is going to take _me_ home?_ She started to giggle, a little at first but then into full out laughter.

Seto turned, seemingly unfazed, "Is something wrong?"

"No, no," she gasped, "just, well. . ." She took a deep breath and straightened herself, "Don't you have anything better to do than take me, a maid, home?"

It was hard to tell in the light of the setting sun, but for a moment she thought she saw him blush, "Would you rather walk home?"

"Huh? Oh!" She started waving her hands, her smile quickly vanishing to a more worried look, "I didn't offend you, did I? I wasn't laughing at you, per se, it was more at the thought of some millionaire hot-shot driving a girl like me back to the slums--"

"You're not helping your case," Seto said flatly, "and I'm only doing this because you saved Mokuba, and right now I'm not really in the state of mind to trust anyone outside of this room."

"But you just called someone to put him to bed at ten that clearly wasn't in this room--"

"Alright, walk home." He started for the stairs.

"Oh wait! I was just teasing!"

The both stopped when they heard Mokuba laughing. He was practically on the floor, gasping for breath. It took him a while to notice they were staring at him. Seto raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Mokuba wiped his eyes, "What do you mean, 'what'? Don't you see what's going on?" They both stared at him with blank expressions, "Oh forget it. You know, bro, you might be a genius, but when it comes to certain things you're almost as clueless as Joey." When he continued to just stare at him, Mokuba sighed, drooping his shoulders, "Nevermind. Anyway, Kisara, I'll come too, so you don't have to worry about anything."

"What did she have to worry about in the first place?!" Seto shouted, his face growing visibly crimson.

"Eek!"

"What?!" Both Seto and Mokuba screamed, both changing their attention to the girl in the middle of the room.

This time she was blushing, "Um, that's my roommate," she laughed. The vibration of the phone had scared her so badly Kisara had screamed, and now she was probably being thought of as an idiot. The phone range several more times until she finally answered. Putting her back to the two Kaibas, she whispered, "What?!"

"Where the hell are you? You said you'd be off at before nine, and it's already nine forty-five! Are you still at work? Do I have to come get you?" Mahad screamed over the phone. She worried if they could hear him.

Kisara attacked back, "So what if I did get off at nine? I'm not a little girl anymore, I can go to other places besides work!"

He was silent for a second, then his voice darkened, "Kisara, did something happen today?"

"N-nothing happened. I mean it's not like I was going to get raped or anything! God! What kind of dark, twisted mind do you have, buddy? I'm starting to wonder if it was a good idea to move in with you--"

"Something _did_ happen!"

She paused, surprised, "How did you know that?"

He laughed, a note of annoying cockiness to his voice, "Because whenever something bad happens, you try to cover it up by rambling like a moron. Anyway, where are you? Do I need to come get you?"

"No, I mean, wait," she turned around and looked at Seto, "Um, are you going to give me a ride?"

"Only if you promise not to say anything."

"Done." She went back to her phone, "Yeah, I have a ride. I'll be home in about an hour or so."

"Alright, I'll keep the door unlocked then."

"Why?"

He laughed again, "Guess what you forgot this morning." With that, the phone bleeped once more, and the call ended.

Reluctantly Kisara reached into her pocket, but already knew it was empty. So what, she forgot her house key, it's not like should couldn't stand outside all night banging on the door until he opened up.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Like she promised, Kisara was quiet during the ride. It was driving her insane, but she was trying. Seto made it a point to not even turn the radio on. The city was spectacular at night, the road they were on causing it to look as if they were flying through the night sky. The ocean was a vast stretch of black, like an endless abyss of darkness that threatened to swallow the tiny city of lights entirely. Of course, the building with the huge KC logo was the most prominent of the buildings, what with its two enormous spotlights. She rolled her eyes, then looked over at her driver.

His eyes never moved, his arms were rigid, like if he made a simple motion their lives would end right then and there. She guessed she was staring at him, because he sighed and asked sharply, "What?"

"Why did you say 'you' when we first met?"

He laughed, a tint of sadness in it, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"Remember your promise?"

"Yeah, I'm not good at keeping those, so spill it. What, you some sort of weird stalker on MySpace or FaceBook or something?"

"No, nothing like that!" He shouted, then he saw that impish smile on her face and realized she was joking. _Is she really that girl? _They were so similar it sent chills up his spine, however the girl he had seen in that dream was very soft-spoken and seemed gentle. Nothing like the woman sitting in his passenger seat. And there was something else, too, but every time he tried to recall it his head began to hurt. Realizing that she wasn't going to stop bothering him until she answered, he simply said, "I dreamed about you, or someone who looked like you."

She stared at him flatly, "You 'dreamed' about me? How is that any better from being a stalker?"

He shrugged, "Believe what you want to, but I told you the truth. Now," Seto turned his attention to an upcoming corner notorious for crashes, "why don't you have a last name? I checked on your file before we left, and it only said 'Kisara'."

He saw her eyes unfocus, and she visibly receded into herself, "I don't have a last name."

"You're an orphan?"

If looks could kill, Seto would have died at least twelve times. Quickly, he said, "Relax, so am I. Mokuba and I lost our parents when I was twelve; I don't remember my last name either."

"Y-you are?" _No way. . .! _Her heart started beating as if she had just ran ten miles. Tears came to her eyes as she looked at the man before her, but she dare not let them fall. How could it be him? Was fate really so twisted as to bring them here, under these circumstances. Restraining everything she had in her, she asked, "Was it a co-ed orphanage? Or, well, what?"

The brakes squealed as if they were alive and being torn in pieces. Luckily she had her seat belt on, or she would've flown right through the windshield. She would've screamed at him, followed promptly by a punch to the face, until she saw that his hands were shaking. In fact, he looked down right ill. Sweat beaded down his forehead, and for a moment Kisara thought that he was going to kill over. Instead, one extremely shaky hand when to his face, slid down it, and stopped long enough to cover his mouth. For a long time they just sat in the middle of the road, nothing making a sound.

Seto looked at her, and it was as if something had unlocked inside his mind, as if a dark fog had cleared and there he was, standing with a little blond girl, watching the leaves fall from the nearest oak outside of the orphanage. He didn't trust himself to speak, however he managed to say, "We went from place to place, and had to leave one. . . One that was an all male orphanage, save for one little girl." This was to insane, to improbable. How could some girl he'd known as a small child be sitting here, right next to him, and no less the one girl who he owed everything to.

The girl that told him of the Blue Eyes.

A knock on the window startled them both, as noted by their simultaneous leap of five feet inside the car. Breathing hard, Seto rolled down his window to reveal a policeman standing outside, a concerned look on his face, "Is everything alright, sir?"

"Y-yes," he said shakily, even though it wasn't alright. The cop shined his flashlight into the car, spotting Kisara.

A know-it-all smile crossed his lips, and he lowered himself to eye-level with Seto, whispering, "Hey, don't get me wrong, kid. She's a beauty, but let's try to make it home before getting busy? You could've been blocking traffic."

"That's not what--!" Biting his tongue, Seto simply said, "Yes, officer. Sorry about that, we'll be on our way."

"You have a nice night, ma'am," he said to Kisara, before whispering once more to Seto, "and give her some time to breath, kid; she's gasping for air over there."

"Good night, sir," Seto growled before slamming into the gas. He had to refrain from going over the speed limit; he couldn't image what he would've done to that cop if he'd pulled them over again, but he knew it would've ended with him in prison, or worse.

Once they were well out of range of the policeman, Seto (more gently this time) pulled over and stopped the car at a scenic view that overlooked the harbor. Boats bigger than any building in the city were linned up side-by-side, awaiting their next destination for trading countless goods between countries. He knew that most of them were probably carrying _his_ goods, though they were to far away for him to distinct any specific one. Pine trees lined the area to their left and right, along with a few decorative boulders to give the place a more mountainous look. Despite all that there was plenty of white paper bags from countless fast food restaurants to ruin the illusion.

They sat in silence for the longest time, neither one either brave enough or able to speak at the moment, until Seto finally said, "Why are you here?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why are you here?" There was more worry in his voice than anger, "After all these years, after, after everything. You just suddenly show up out of nowhere, and are, are _working for me_?! Don't you think that's just a bit to, to--"

"Convenient?"

"No, not that--"

"Creepy?"

"No, not--" He stopped, once again finding her smiling. He was to tired and to confused to fight back. One word just kept playing back and forth in his mind: why?

Kisara, sitting back in her seat, shrugged, "How do you know I'm the same girl?"

"Because you brought it up."

"Fair enough, so we knew each other. Why does it have to be some conspiracy? Why not just plain dumb luck?"

"Because it doesn't exist."

"Right, well," she turned and smiled at him again, so sweetly that for a moment Seto thought she was making fun of him again, "I'm not here because I was sent here, I'm not trying to get anything from it, and if truth be told, I had my doubts about who you were until I saw your face, so stop staring at me like I'm going to turn into a dragon or something."

_A dragon,_ he thought, a smile on his face, _she just had to say a dragon. . ._ Memories of a sunny afternoon on the swing set played into his mind:

_She stopped, dust flying up from her feet as she slowly lost speed. Seto followed, asking, "What's wrong?"_

_"Lets run away together, Seto! You and me, and Mokuba too! We don't need this place, we've got each other!"_

_"Um. . ."_

_"Just kidding," she said, giggling. She looked up into the sky, her eyes almost taking the same hue as the heavens above them. Her face grew more serious than he'd ever seen her, "Hey, Seto."_

_"Yeah?"_

_"You're leaving tomorrow, aren't you? You and Moki, I mean, to that new place in the city."_

_His head dropped, "Kisara. . ."_

_"Promise me something, okay?"_

_"Okay."_

_"When you become rich and famous, make sure you get all those Blue Eyes cards."_

_It took him a second to realize what she had said, "W-what? Why the Blue Eyes White Dragon?"_

_Something lit up inside her, "Because if you have those, nothing bad can happen to you! You'll be the strongest person in the universe, Seto!" She laughed, blond hair dancing in the wind, "Then I won't have to worry about you when you're gone away from me."_

_"Kisara, how do you know I'll even be famous--"_

_"Promise me!"_

_"Okay, okay!" He said, laughing while dodging her tiny fists, "I promise."_

_"Seto?"_

He was lost in thought, so she shouted his name, "Seto!"

"W-what?" The face he was looking at now was just somewhat older than the one from his memory, but all the more breath-taking. She had been his first friend, if not his only friend, before Gozaboro had adopted them. And now here she was. Right here. Next to him.

"Seto, you're staring again."

"Sorry, it's just--"

"I'm glad to see you again too, Seto, but," she laughed, "if you don't take me home soon, my roomate'll kill us both."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was late. Really late. At least after one in the morning. She hoped Mahad was still awake, though she didn't have to worry to much because once she topped the stairs she saw his slumped form in front of the door to their apartment. Rolling her eyes, she walked up to him, gently tapping him on the shoulder, "Hey, I'm home."

His eyes fluttered open, and for a moment he didn't know where he was. Then it all hit him and he shot up from the floor, nearly knocking her down, "Kisara! Where have you behmmphf!?"

Shhing him, and removing her hand from his mouth, she said, "Come on, let's get inside. You'll never believe the day I had."

"Where's your ride?"

"He had to get home," she lied. In fact, she had told him that she wanted him to go and check on Mokuba, fishing for anything to make him go home. Otherwise they more than likely would've been under the wrathful eye of Mahad, Big Brother and Paladin of Suspected Love Interest.

"_He_? Is this the same guy who made you where that stupid uniform?"

She sighed, exhausted, "Inside. Now."

"Alright, alright, but you better tell me everything," an arrogant smile on his lips, "I'll just find out anyway."

"Yeah, yeah, you're all powerful and all that jazz. But I'm tired, I know you are, so it's time for bed. Now unlock the door."

"Uh. . ."

"Don't tell me?"

"Yeah," he laughed sheepishly, "I forgot the key inside."

As many colorful words escaped her lips, Mahad watched Kisara march down the hallway to the owner's room, thankful that she had atleast made it home in one piece.


	3. Gossip and Rumors

**Familiar Stranger**

**By Lindsay R. Honosky**

**Chapter Three: Gossip and Rumors**

**Thank you for your reviews, and I'm really sorry it took me so long (I was plagued by the stomach flu). But I feel much better now, SO ON TO THE STORY! Please review and let me know what you think (it also motivates me to keep writing, lol). I hope you enjoy!  
**

He didn't sleep at all that night, which actually wasn't all that uncommon, but this time he wasn't thinking of things better left in the corners of his mind. It was of her, and how amazed he was that a simple person could cause his entire thought process to wrap itself around her. _Kisara,_ he thought, resting his chin on his entwined fingers. After all these years, here she was. What worried him the most was the fact that he had simple forgotten her, something Seto Kaiba never did. Maybe it was just as it was with his last name; something of the past that was erased by the all to bitter present. Seto watched as the sun rose over the treetops of the backyard garden, wondering if Mokuba would notice. He never said anything if he did.

Seto didn't noticed he was nodding off, his head slowly tilting forward and his eyes began to close. If it wasn't for the sudden ringing of the phone, he probably would have toppled over. A little dazed, but well enough to hide his exhaustion, he answered, "Yes? What is it?"

There was no answer.

"Hello?" He was starting to get annoyed. The caller still refused to answer, but their breathing was still audible, "I know you're there. If you're going to try and scare someone, cover the mouth piece, moron."

"Didn't I teach you any manners, Seto?"

"What. . .?!"

Even before he heard the receiver of the caller fall, Seto had broken into a cold sweat. _That voice. . ._!It was one he knew all to well, one he thought had died all those months ago, one that he should _not_ have just heard talking to him over the telephone. _No_, he thought, laughing quietly to himself, _I'm just tired, that's all. A trick of the mind._ However he could not fully convince himself of that lie, the number staring up at him from the caller-ID wouldn't allow that.

He deleted the number.

It was probably just some bitter business rival, trying to get him riled up over nothing. Chosing to ignore the entire ordeal, Seto stood from his office chair and headed for his bedroom. As a force of habit, he checked in on Mokuba, who was still fast asleep. He watched his brother's chest rise and fall with the ease of restful breathing, feeling strangely relieved that he was alright.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

He watched with an amused smile on his face as Kisara dashed from one room to the other, always going back and forth with some new toiletry that she'd forgotten on her previous venture. "I'm determined to make it on time!" She had told him that morning. Four hours ago, after he had awoken her for the third time in a row. Not that he was counting. . .

"Mahad?" Kisara's voice echoed inside the bathroom, "What time is it?"

"There is no Mahad, only Zool!" He answered, waiting for the famed, "wrath of the dragon".

The door slammed open, emerging a half-naked Kisara with a scowl on her face, "Alright, _Zool_, don't help me. I won't pay the cable bill this month."

"I'm going to get a job--"

"Oh crap! It's already _that_ late?!" Completely ignoring him, she dashed back into the bathroom, slamming the door all the more harder.

He rolled his eyes, laughing, _Any minute now. . ._

A muffled cry of, "Oh my God, he just saw my panties!" arrived just as soon as he thought it would. Satisfied that he'd annoyed her enough for one morning, he called, "Hey! I'm going out today, are you going to be alright?"

His answer was a loud bang on the wall.

"Righto then, I'm off!" Standing, he walked to the door, remembering to grab the house key before he left.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Mahad walked around for a long time, but as each building he passed, his hopes for employment plundered. Deciding to take a break, he sat down on the sidewalk below a tree outside a small game shop. It was very colorful, which for the wares it sold he guessed it would had to have been. A poster of the Black Luster Soldier fighting the Dark Magician was in the display window, along with a sign reading, "Now Selling Duel Disks" in big red letters.

He wondered if he should get back into the game; he hadn't played in so long. It was big at the orphanage that he and Kisara went to, but it soon lost interest when he ran out of opponents. Kisara wasn't half bad herself, it just took a completely different kind of battle to actually get her to duel. Mahad sighed, leaning his head against the trunk of the tree. A gentle breeze passed by, softy touching his hair and making it seem as though it were alive. Soon enough he started to drift to sleep, right there in the middle of the street. . .

"Um, are you alright, sir?"

He opened his eyes to find a young man with huge purple eyes staring down at him, concerned. It took him a while to put his thoughts together; he and Kisara must have been up later than he thought. Yawning, Mahad said, "I'm fine, just a little tired. Sorry about that--" Looking at the trinket around the boy's neck snapped him wide awake, "Yugi!"

"Wha--?!" The kid jumped back, startled.

"Oh, no, sorry," Mahad laughed, "you met my friend yesterday; Kisara? I'm her roommate, Mahad." He reached a hand out, "Didn't mean to scare you."

Yugi grabbed it, shaking it a few times, "Nice to meet you, Mahad. So you're new here too?"

"Sort of," he answered, a smile on his face.

"Sort of? You've lived here before?"

"When I was really little. The church I was left at is in this city."

"You're an orphan?" There was a hint of pity in the kid's voice, but Mahad decided to ignore it. After all these years he was used to it by now.

He gave him a quick nod, "Yeah, we both are. Anyway, thanks for yesterday. Kisara can be a little," he searched for the right word, "absentminded."

"Oh, I wasn't with Tristan and the others when that all went down," Yugi said, laughing sheepishly. That concerned look came back to his face, "Is she doing alright?"

"She's a tough kid; it'll take more than that to unsettle her," he laughed bitterly, "finding her old boyfriend helped too, though, I guess."

"Huh?"

"Nothing," Mahad smiled quickly, "don't worry about it. Anyway," he stood, towering over the kid, "I better get going."

"Where are you off to?"

Mahad sighed deeply, "Job-hunting."

A huge grin spread across Yugi's face, "Well, hunt no more! You can work here."

Mahad looked around, "Here . . .?"

"Oh, yeah," Yugi laughed, pointing behind him, "My grandpa and I run this Game Shop, but we've been meaning to hire on some extra help. That is, if you're interested."

"Are you kidding?!" Mahad grabbed both of Yugi's hands, shaking them wildly, "Of course I am! I haven't had any luck all day; oh, thank you, Yugi!"

"You're welcome," Yugi managed between laughs. As Mahad let him go, Yugi studied his face a little closer. _Something about him . . . but what?_ He shrugged; it was probably nothing. He'd been in a desaivu mood since yesterday, so it was probably nothing. Still smiling, he asked, "When do you want to start?"

"As soon as you need me to, oh," scratching the back of his head, he asked, "is it alright if I call Kisara first? I need to see if she's made it out of the house alive."

"Um, sure?"

"Thanks." Fishing for his cell phone, Mahad quickly dialed her number. . .

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Her phone vibrated in her back pocket, however this time she didn't jump. Hoping she wouldn't disturb the old woman sitting next to her, she quickly answered, "Yes? This is Kisara."

"Hey, are you at work yet?" It was Mahad.

She rolled her eyes, whispering, "No, not yet--"

"Where are you, then?! You didn't try to walk again, did you?"

"No!" She shouted, quickly glancing at the old woman again, hoping she went unheard. Whispering again, she said, "No, I'm on a bus. Full of old, sleeping people."

"I'm not the one who screamed," He said, that annoying hint of his ego creeping ever so slowly into each word.

"I know that," she snapped. "Look, I'm almost to my stop, what's up? Any luck?"

"Actually, yeah, I have a job with that Yugi kid."

"Really? That's great! Tell him I said thanks for hiring a bum like you!"

"I love you too."

"I know," she laughed, "alright, I'll see you tonight then?"

"When do you get off?"

"I dunno--"

"You don't know? Tell that guy you want off at five; it's the least he could do."

"Mahad, he's my employer, I don't think it works that way," she said, sighing.

"You grew up with the guy, didn't you?" Kisara could hear someone in the background scream, "WHAT?!"

"I didn't grow up with him! Why do you get so hostile whenever he comes up?" There was a long pause, "Mahad?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it. Look, I was just kidding; sorry." His voice lightened, "I'll see you tonight then. Have a good day, Kisara."

"Yeah," she said, "you too." She flipped the phone shut, sitting back in her seat. _What was that all about?_ She shrugged; he was probably just doing the big brother thing again.

She watched as the city slowly turned from the old buildings of her apartment and those similar to it change into the crystal looking spires that shot from the ground in the main part of the city. They dazzled in the morning sun, the streets busy with people ranging from business men in their prime suites to those of the less fortunate, hunting for the freshest piece of left-overs from fast food restaurants. They passed a few empty bus stops until they were deep into the city, where a lone man sat.

He walked slowly to the door, as if the world was supposed to wait on him. He walked down the aisle just as slowly, in a pristine red suit that she supposed he thought complemented the slicked back gray hair on top of his head. The man wore a permanent scowl, his eyes hardly visible from the massive eyebrows that hovered over them, matching the mustache that rested beneath his nose. He decided to finally sit in the seat across from her, making her look away quickly. The bus sputtered back to life, and they continued on their way, passing building after building.

"You must work for KaibaCorp.?"

The question was so unannounced and from such a gruff voice that it startled her. Kisara's head snapped up, and found that the voice belonged to the old man that had just arrived. He was staring at her with these dull, almost sickly looking brown eyes that caused chills to go up her spin. Crossing her legs, she merely said, "Yes."

"And how is that, working for that Kaiba boy?" There was something about this man that set of a thousand red flags in her mind all at once.

She shrugged, "I just started."

"Oh, well then," he smiled, "good luck, my dear."

She nodded, "Thank you." Kisara quickly changed her attention to the window beside her, hoping that if she looked interested in something else, the man would leave her alone. He didn't talk to her anymore, but he did keep staring at her, making her feel dirty. _Stupid uniform,_ she thought, her hands tugging at the hem of her skirt, wishing she could make it longer. Those eyes just kept on looking at her, as if the man were trying to permanently trace her image into his mind. And there was that hunger in them, that look of starved deprivation that she'd seen only yesterday that made her want to scream. Kisara hoped the man couldn't tell he was making her nervous. _You've got to stand up to guys like that! _Mahad had told her, _Let them think they aren't scaring you, and they have no power over you._ She'd like to see him try and keep a brave face. She'd like for him to be sitting next to her instead of the old woman.

Luckily the man ran the bell to stop the bus. He stood, nodded to her, and left; just like that. She watched as the man started down the street, the bus quickly passing him before he got to far. She watched him for a while, noting the small wink that he gave her before they went around the corner.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

She couldn't believe she wasn't late. Kisara was heading down the pathway to the house when she heard someone shout her name. She turned, finding Mokuba elbow deep in dirt. She smiled, waving, "Good morning, Mokuba!"

He removed one arm from the dirt, his sleeve rolling down the dirty skin. He frowned, then decided it didn't matter if he got dirty anymore and starting running towards her. She could tell that he'd been working in the garden all morning; his face was practically black with soil. Smiling, he said, "Good morning, Kisara!" He looked down at his hands, "I ah, would shake your hand or something, but, well. . ."

She reached down and hugged him, "I don't care; I'm a maid, remember? I'm not doing my job if I'm not dirty."

He was blushing wildly when she let go, but he hoped the dirty would hide that fact. He then remembered how late Seto got home last night, "How far away do you live, Kisara? Seto got home really late last night."

"Did he? We reached my place at one--"

"You guys left at ten," Mokuba frowned, "you live four hours away?"

"Well, we stopped to talk and--," she stopped, "wait, Mokuba, didn't he tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Ah," she laughed, "never mind, it's not important." _He was so little then, he couldn't possibly have remembered._ She frowned when she saw his face, "What?"

"You two are dating, aren't you?"

"What?!"

He smiled with this smugness that she knew had to come from his older brother, "I knew it. You two were flirting with each other so hard yesterday I thought the room would explode in hormones. So when did he ask? Is that why he was out so late? Why is he still making you work for us? Can I call you 'sis' now--?" His questions kept coming and coming, his face lighting up with each new one.

"Mokuba--"

"Master Mokuba! It's time for lunch!" From a side door a kind looking old man was leaning outside, shouting for Mokuba. He wore what she assumed was the male equivalent of what she was wearing, though it was much more appropriate to be standing outside in.

"Oh, sorry Kisara, I'll see you later, 'kay?" Before she could say anything he dashed off, leaving her in the garden with her mouth hanging wide open. _He'll figure it out_, she assured herself, walking towards the main entrance.

It was a much different scene from yesterday evening. The hall was filled with girls similarly dress as she was, dusting, sweeping, polishing, or just standing around gossiping. There were three girls in particular that caught her eye, a blond, brunette, and red-head. Instead of the standard white stockings, these girls were wearing fishnet, the high heels they wore clearly not comfortable to work in. The make-up they wore was so thick it looked like their faces were oil paintings, and their hair contained so much hairspray that she was sure she could see it hovering three inches from their actual heads. All of them were giving her the stink eye. _Oh man, _she thought, grimacing, _I don't like where this is going._

"Hey," one of the girls called, "new girl. C'mere for a minute!"

"Uh," she hesitated, "I really can't; I need to clock in--"

"There ain't no clock, darlin'," the red-head said, a little to sweetly, "besides, shouldn't you get to know you're superiors?"

"S-superiors?" She almost laughed. _These guys are my bosses?_ She decided to go over, but was on her guard. She'd seen women like these before in the orphanage; girls that thought they were tough and could walk all over you, or just jealous of something you had and wanted to make your life miserable. She'd delt with their kind before, though she'd hoped to have escaped all that once she moved. Oh well, such was life.

The brunette sneered at her, "So, words going around that Mr. Kaiba drove you home last night."

"That wouldn't be true, would it?" The blond asked, a fake smile on her face, "Because if it was, why, we'd have to do something about that."

The red-head stepped closer to her, "We wouldn't want the young master to fall in with a bad crowd. You know, get mixed up with some skinny whore."

Kisara smiled, "Well then, make sure you three keep your distance."

"What did you just say?" The brunette yanked her from the front of Kisara's apron.

"This little bitch thinks she's funny!" The blond said, running a finger across Kisara's face, "We don't like funny girls, do we Becky?"

The red-head, apparently Becky, replied, "Not in the slightest."

The blond gripped Kisara's chin like a bear trap, "Maybe we should teach you a lesson? Let's see how much interest Mr. Kaiba has in you when you've lost some teeth." Kisara shut her eyes, bracing for impact. . .

"What's going on here?" All four looked up (well, it would have been all four, if they hadn't thrown Kisara to the ground) to find Seto Kaiba at the top of the stairs, glowering down at them. He began to descend, "Well, answer me. . . now!"

The brunette stammered, "T-t-this girl, she said something about my mother, and called Becky a skanky retard, and poor Anita here a whore!" She started to fake tears, "Oh, Mr. Kaiba, it was horrible!"

"And is that why you were about to punch a girl half your size?" They went quiet, "Quit your babbling and explain what really happened here."

The three of them just stood there, not meeting his eyes.

"That's what I thought. Leave, all of you."

"What? But, sir--!"

"Violence will not be tolerated in this household, and I've had to many complaints about you three. As of today, you no longer work for KaibaCorporation." He eyed them with such a bone chilling coldness that it made even Kisara shiver, "Now, leave." If they wanted to protest further, the look he gave them stopped it before the words even left their throats. With one more nasty look at Kisara, the women filled out of the house, the big door shutting ominously behind them. Everyone else had apparently stopped what they were doing to watch, but instantly got back to their jobs when Kaiba made a coughing noise.

He walked up beside Kisara, who was still in the ground. Reaching down, he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Nice group of fangirls you have there," she said, grabbing his hand. He lifted her from the floor, more gently than she would've thought.

He shrugged, "Idiots. They're at least ten years my senior; they've worked here since my step-father was still alive." He cocked an eyebrow, "Why where they bothering you, anyway?"

She laughed, "Probably because you're not a regular shopher to your employees."

She didn't expect him to laugh, and predictably he didn't, "I told you that was because you saved Mokuba."

"Do they know that?"

"They don't need to. Anyway, follow me," he started back up the stairs, "there's something I wish to discuss with you."

She started to point around the room, stumbling over her words, "But. . . I. . . work. . .!" He just kept going, already at the top stair, "Oh, damn it!" She ran after him as fast as she dared without falling (she had decided to wear the heels issued to them today).

Luckily he had decided to wait for her at the end of the hallway. He just stood there watching as she raced down the stretch like a drag racer, almost falling when she put on her brakes. At least he was kind enough to let her catch her breath before he started walking again. As she followed, he said, "I sent an escort to your house this morning but you weren't there."

"You did what?" She asked, breathless. Then her temper flared, "Look, I'm not a baby; I don't need you to protect me like some child!"

He smirked, "Does it really bother you?"

"It's just a bit weird--"

"Expect a ride every morning from now on at ten-thirty." She had to take a few extra steps to catch up with him after he said that, since it made her stop dead in her tracks.

Visibly angry now, she almost screamed, "You think this is funny, don't you?"

"A little."

"Of course you do," she snapped, crossing her arms.

Seto stopped in front of a door at the far end of the next hallway, opening it slowly, "In here; we can talk more privately."

Kisara didn't know if she was stepping into a library or a bedroom. Either way it was a beautifully decorated room; oak bookshelves lined most of the walls, giving way only for a decorative window that was built in a way so you could sit up against the wall and read nearest the sunlight. An elegant writing desk sat in the corner with a comfy business chair resting underneath it, papers and pens scattered about in a mess but not diminishing the piece's beauty. A king-sized bed (no surprise) was set in the middle of the room with hanging curtains that were barely see-through tied to the side, a simple nightstand perched next to it with an alarm clock and an empty glass on its surface. Pictures of younger versions of both he and Mokuba hung from the walls.

She was already halfway inside when she realized where she was, _I'm in his room. . . I'M IN HIS ROOM?!_ She would've ran out if she didn't hear the soft 'click' of the door closing. Instead, she took a deep breath and sat down at the window seat, watching him. He just returned her stare, only his was of a more amused air than her obvious glare. A moment of silence passed before he finally said, "No one can hear us in here; reinforced walls."

She rolled her eyes, "What in the world would we've had to talk about that you needed to keep secret?"

"Nothing, really. I just don't like people who eavesdrop."

"And here I thought you were a complex person."

He seemed to laugh slightly at that, "I'm not as simple as you might think, either." Seto paced back and forth for a little while, then sighed and said, "Look, the reason why I brought you here was," he hesitated, "I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" She looked at his face, amazed at how embarrassed he looked, "For what? You didn't do anything--" She stopped, putting a finger to her lips, "Well, you have been constantly teasing me, almost caused me to get beat up by your groupies, and made my roommate practically tear my head off for being so late last night--"

He looked surprised, "I caused all that--No! That's not what I'm sorry for," he said, turning a light shade of red, "I'm sorry for not remembering you, Kisara." He put a hand on his head, his eyebrows furrowed, "I don't know how I could've done it, given who you are. . . it's just, maybe it's been so long, but that doesn't make any sense, or maybe I just couldn't think of you as an adult, or--"

"Does it matter? Like I said, I didn't know who you were either, until last night anyway." She stood, walking closer to him, "What matters is the time we have now, don't you agree? You know, to catch up on all that's happened and stuff like that."

He was standing near the edge of the bed, a faint smile on his lips, "Yes, that would be. . . nice."

She frowned, concerned, "What's happened to you, Seto? You were always quiet, but never _this_ quiet. And your laugh; it's almost like it doesn't exist." He his his face from her, "What happened, Seto?" He didn't answer her, and something told her that the conversation would end sourly if she pushed the subject, so she decided to change it. Giggling a little, she said, "You know, Mokuba thinks we're dating."

If his face wasn't red before, it sure was now, "What? Why would he think that?"

"I dunno--Oh!" The back of her heel snapped off, causing her to trip over her own feet. Crashing into Seto, the tumbled forward and bounced on something soft, twisted a little, and somehow Seto had gotten on top of her, though her mind was in no position to sort out what had just happened.

His lips were touching her's.

They just stared at each other for a long time, both with eyes as wide as they could possibly go. They didn't dare speak a word, their faces turning crimson in unison. . .

The door slammed open, a tiny body falling in as two others raced away. The mess of black hair stood, revealing a grinning Mokuba. Getting to his feet, he screamed, "Jeez, Seto, you've only seen her for two days and already you're trying to get to first base?!"

"Mokuba!"

He ran out the door before his brother could reach him (his legs were still a bit tangled in Kisara's). It took a second for them to unravel, both still silent, until he said, "I'm so sorry--"

"No, no, if I wasn't such a cluts--"

"You're not a cluts--"

"Yes I am. . ." Their eyes meet once more, but then quickly glancing to the floor.

At the same time, they rambled, "Ibettergetbacktowork!" And rushed out the door, or, well, they would have, if they didn't try to go at the same time. They bounced off of one another to a multitude of more 'sorries' until Kisara broke into laughter, followed closely by Seto. She smiled up at him, "See? That's the laugh I was talking about." Seeing an opening, Kisara lept into the hallway, holding her broken shoes in one hand, and said, "Later!"

As she dashed off, Seto leaned against the doorway, smiling, "Later. . ." To his right, he heard someone whistling the tune 'Loving You', and looked down to find his little brother there, grinning bigger than he was in the room. Seto smirked, "Big mistake, kiddo."

"Why's that?" He asked, clearly confused.

"You should've hidden while you had the chance."

"Huh? Ah!" He grabbed his brother from the waist, hauling him over his shoulder, "Kisara! Help!" But it was to late, the tickling soon commenced.

**I feel like I'm making their relationship go to quickly, what do you guys think? Oh well, thank you for reading, and hopefully I'll have chapter four up soon!**


	4. Ghosts of the Past

**Familiar Stranger**

**By Lindsay R. Honosky**

**Chapter Four: Ghosts of the Past**

**Thank you all so much for your reviews! Sorry for the misspells; I'm horrible at spelling. This chapter gets a little dark, but it's my first "M" fic, so I guess I better get to it or else change the rating, huh? Anyway, please tell me what you think and I'll keep updating! . . . That sorta sounds like a threat, doesn't it? I don't mean it to be. . . sorry -_-**

She'd actually gotten ready on time enough to sit down and enjoy the morning. Kisara sipped her hot chocolate slowly, breathing in the steam as she shut her eyes. The tv was tuned into the morning news, nothing really happening save for a puppy being saved by an old woman, and some strange story about a freak lightening storm that caused fires on several large tankers. The reporter was just finishing up saying there were no injuries when Mahad walked into the room, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Kisara just stared at him; it was rare for her to be up before he was.

He yawned once, blinked, then flopped down on the couch next to her. She smiled, "Good morning."

Mahad stretched, "Yeah, good morning," his eyes drifted to the tv, "did it rain last night?"

She shrugged, "Not that I remember, then again I was out before eleven." Kisara put down her cocoa and nudged him playfully, "So, how was your first day, Mr.-I-Gotta-Job? You didn't get home 'til after I went to bed."

There was a faint smile on his face, "The people I work for are really nice, but the hours are strange."

She put her legs underneath her, "How come?"

"Well, Mr. Moto basically said I could work for however long I like, just as long as I come in at twelve on the weekdays." He laughed, "Oh, and you'll never believe this."

"What?"

Mahad's face made a strange expression, "You know that card, The Dark Magician?"

She frowned, "Yeah, what about it?"

He was pointing at his face now, "Don't you think I look _just_ like him?"

"It's a card, Mahad--"

"I know that!" He shouted, "But still, take a look at it next time you get the chance. It'll freak you out."

Rolling her eyes, she said, "I know what he looks like; big purple guy with a green rod. So what?"

"Just do it, trust me; you'll shit bricks." He got up then and walked to the kitchen, the sound of bowls clanging and cereal being poured following.

"Right," she said to herself, changing the channel.

She flipped through maybe twenty more stations when she heard Mahad say, "There's a limo in the parking lot."

Jumping, she shouted, "What?!"

"Why are you so excited?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, "It's not like it's for you--"

Their doorbell rang. He stared at her with a big grin, "Oh ho! Looks like Prince Charming has arrived."

"Don't you answer that!"

Thanks to his long legs, it was easy for him to beat Kisara to the door, however he still had to hold her back. Holding back laughter, he opened the door to reveal. . .

Nothing.

"Huh?"

"Down here, sir."

"Oh!" Looking down, there was a young boy with long dark hair and big purplish eyes staring up at him, frowning. Mahad laughed, "Sorry about that, kid. Can I help you?"

He seemed very unsure of himself, "Um, well, I was looking for a girl named Kisara, but I think I got the wrong place--"

"Mokuba, hey!" She shoved Mahad out of the way (a little to hard, since he landed a few feet on the ground) and smiled, "Good morning! What on Earth are you doing here?"

His face instantly lit up, "Kisara!" Before she knew it, tiny arms were wrapped around her waist, and she could faintly make out what he was saying, thanks to his face being smothered by her apron, "Seto told me everything, well, after he stopped attacking me for teasing him--"

"Attacking you?!"

"No, no, not like that. Normal big brother stuff, you know, tickling, noogies, things like that. Anyway, he told me that you two knew each other a long time ago, and then he told me from where, and guess what?" He looked up, smiling even wider, "I started to remember you too! How we used to play house together, and how you would tackle Seto if he did something stupid, or how you would hide my peas in the cafeteria when I didn't want them, and--!" As if a wind blew through his entire body, Mokuba's facial expression changed dramatically and tears were forming in his eyes, "Oh, Kisara, can you ever forgive us? I'm so, so sorry for forgetting you!"

"Hey, hey," she said soothingly, crouching down to his height, "you don't have to worry about a thing. We're together now, aren't we?" She smiled, ruffling his hair, "That's all that matters now; the memories will come along with some new ones, okay?"

Wiping his eyes, he nodded and said, "Okay." Calm once more, he pointed to the lump that had gathered on the floor, "By the way, is that your roommate you were talking about?"

"Oh, him?" She eyed him flatly, "If you consider cockroaches to be roommates, then I guess you could call him that."

"Such a sweet young lady you are," Mahad said, rubbing his back, "I think you broke my tailbone. . ."

"We don't have tails anymore, you'll live." She frowned slightly, "Seriously, though, did I hurt you?"

He laughed, "Kisara, you couldn't hurt an ant with a hammer." Dusting himself off, he walked to the doorway where Mokuba stood, "So you're Kaiba's little brother, huh? Nice to meet you, Mokuba. I'm Mahad."

Mokuba eyed him for a few seconds, then his eyes widened, "Now I know why you look so familiar! You look _exactly_ like the Dark Magician!"

"What?!" Kisara caught Mahad looking at her smugly, "Oh, come on. That's ridiculous."

"Ridiculously awesome," he laughed, then added, "you know, you could invite the kid in."

"Oh! My bad," she said, scratching her head, "well, do you wanna come in for a minute, Mokuba? It's not much, but it's home."

"Well, see, the reason why I'm here is because Seto sent someone to pick you up--"

"Are you serious!?" She fumed, biting her lower lip, "I thought that jerk was just teasing! Who the hell does he think he is--?!"

"See, I thought you'd say something like that, so I decided to come too," smiling, he added, "you can't say no if I'm here. Anyway, I was wanting to spend the day in town, and I didn't want any bodyguards breathing down my neck, so I thought maybe we could make a day of it together."

Grabbing the ends of her maid skirt, she asked, "Do I have to wear this crazy get-up?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"Out of the costume then, Cinderella," Mahad said, almost like an order.

She smiled mischievously, "What if I want to wear it?"

Picking her up from around the waist, Mahad simply said, "Not an option. You know what guys would do if they saw you in that? I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep letting it slide with that Kaiba guy--"

She was pounding on his back as hard as she could, but to no avail, "Put me down! Put me down!! Alright! I was kidding; I'll change!"

Mokuba watched them disappear into the hallway, opening a door further down. Kisara disappeared, however Mahad was instantly rammed into the wall by what Mokuba could tell was a pillow to the face.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rain clouds gathered overhead, but so far no rain had fallen. Kisara looked out of the tinted windows, the dark shade making the already downcast world seem all that more drearier. She'd always hated rainy days; they seemed to make her sleepy. If it was affecting her young companion, however, he showed no sign. Mokuba had decided that today they would go to one of his favorite arcades, then maybe to a good restaurant, and if they had time stop by to see Yugi (of course, they would leave that part out when telling Seto of their day). Suddenly he slapped his forehead, saying, "I totally forgot! Um," he looked a little ashamed, "Kisara, do you even like video games? I know a lot of girls in my class don't play them, so if you want to do something else--"

She pretended to look hurt, "Why, how could you even ask such a question, Mokuba?"

He laughed, "What kind of games do you like?"

She told him of all the games she'd ever played, especially about the Zelda series and Final Fantasy games. Mokuba seemed to find himself in this topic, claiming that he was better at Pokémon than his brother could ever dream of, he liked Final Fantasy, but it had a little to much romance for his taste, and got into an argument with her about which series was better; Mario or Zelda. They talked for a good thirty minutes, both making jokes about Metal Gear and how Seto sort of sounded like Solid Snake. "Oh my gosh, he does, doesn't he?" Kisara laughed, wiping away a tear.

"Yeah, when I told him that he asked me if he should start making nanomachines then." His smile turned a little sad, "That was the first joke he'd made since our step-father adopted us."

"Mokuba?" She looked at him worriedly.

"Nothing," he seemed to force himself to cheer up, "don't worry about it."

"Master Mokuba," the driver said, knocking on the window, "we've arrived at the arcade."

"Would you like to come with us, Mr. Andrews?"

He smiled at that, "No, sir. But I'll be right outside if you need anything. Have fun."

"Thanks! Come on, Kisara!" He was out of the door before he even finished opening it.

"Mokuba, wait!" She called, getting out of the limo. He was already at the door, waving frantically for her. She sighed, following as quickly as she could.

Inside was an orchestra of lights and sounds of a million different games. To the side were all the tag-team shooters that were always popular, and across from those were fighting titles such as Street Fighter, King of Fighters, Tekken, D.O.A, and a few more that she wasn't familiar with. There were also a few other games that didn't involve plastic guns or joy sticks. That game where you try to get the little ball into the different holes was here, along with a basket ball game, air hockey, a pool table, and in the middle of the room was a huge DDR game. "Well Mokuba, what do you want to play first?" She looked down to find that he had already run off to a game that let you pilot giant robots.

Smiling, she watched as he took down enemy unit, one after another, until a sign blinking "MISSION COMPLETE" flashed across the screen. Mokuba laughed, then turned to head towards another game, "Come on, Kisara! I challenge you to DDR!"

Smirking, she followed, saying, "Just don't fire me when I beat you so badly you cry."

They spent several more hours playing game after game, one never really topping the other, and they always laughed at the end of each one. It took a grumbling set of stomachs for them to realize just how long they'd been in there. Smiling, Kisara asked, "You hungry yet?"

"Starving; let's go somewhere nice."

"Whoa, whoa," Kisara waved her hands, "slow down, kiddo. I don't know what you're used to, but I can't afford the places you and your brother go to--"

He laughed, "Don't worry; this place isn't so bad. It's a Japanese steak house, sort of, and it's pretty cheap for the food. Come on, I'll even treat you, if you like."

Leaning down, she kissed the top of his head, "Such a gentleman," winking, she added, "but I can handle it. Show the way, kind sir."

Blushing, he said, "F-follow me, then." Taking her hand, Mokuba led her out of the arcade to the limo, who was waiting for them, just as Mr. Andrews had said.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They were both sitting back in their booth, to full to actually talk much. Mokuba had a sleepy look to his eye, little bits of rice still sticking to his face, with a very content smile on his lips. Kisara was still finishing her steak teriyaki, though her rice went untouched. Mokuba had teased her about that, "Who doesn't like rice."

"Me," she had stated simply, then returning to sipping on her miso soup.

Once their food had settled, Kisara sighed and said, "I'm having a great time, Mokuba. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," he answered, one eye closed, "it's the least I could do for forgetting you."

"What happened, Mokuba?" She grew concerned, "You two left, and it's almost like you're completely different people?" She quickly said, "Not necessarily you, but Seto. . . I've never seen him so," she looked for the right word, "so cold."

His eyes darkened, and he was quiet for a moment. For a while Kisara thought he wasn't going to answer, then he slowly started, "My brother. . . when we were first adopted, our step-father, Gozaboro, kept up apart. I rarely got to see him, but every time I did, it made me want to cry. You couldn't tell if you didn't know him, but I watched as my brother slowly turned from the Seto you and I remember to this cold, distant man with my brother's face. I had no idea what had happened to him, but one day I heard one of the older maids crying to a few of the other girls. She kept saying things like, 'those bruises are horrible' and 'there's so much blood'. She started to say that he'd been, I don't know, but it started with an 'r', then her face went white, and she started crying even harder." He started playing with a chopstick on his plate, "The woman quit a few days after that. The next time I saw my brother, he started saying things like I told our step-father about his plan to take over the company, and that he never wanted to see me again. . ." His eyes were hidden behind his hair, "Of course, that was all to trick Gozaboro, but it was still something I knew the old Seto would never have done. Once our step-father disappeared, I thought Seto would get better, but he just seemed to get meaner and meaner with each day. . ." He grew silent once more. When he looked up, he saw that Kisara had tears in her eyes. Feeling guilty, he quickly said, "But Yugi changed all that! I don't know how, but one day it was like this shadow lifted from my brother. . . And, well, now that you're here, I can already tell he's starting to lighten up more." He smiled widely, "That's why I'm so glad you came back to us, Kisara. You seem to have given Seto his smile back."

Tears were falling from her face, uncontrolled, "Oh, Mokuba. . ." She was so furious and angry that it almost hurt. _Who could do that to a child?_ She wondered who this Gozaboro person was, and every face of every insane child molester she'd ever known flashed before her eyes. Thankfully, she had been lucky enough to have Mahad there to protect her, but who could protect you from your own father? How could a man like that get away with something so terrible? And how could somebody continue living after something so horrible.

She didn't notice Mokuba had gotten up from his seat and joined her. Cupping her hand into his own, he said, "You're a good person, Kisara."

She didn't say anything; she couldn't. Instead, she leaned over and hugged Mokuba tightly, afraid that he might disappear if she let him go.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Mr. Andrews went on ahead, as per Mokuba's request. Yugi's card shop was pretty close, and after the dark atmosphere of the restaurant, it was nice to get out into the fresh air. Though what had been revealed to her was still very fresh in her mind, she decided not to think about it, especially around Mokuba. She watched as the boy tried balancing on the edge of the sidewalk, amazed at how brave the boy was. He looked back at her a few times, smiling, then would continue to wobble down the way.

"So," he said, jumping back onto the main sidewalk, "Mahad works for Yugi?"

"Yes, he started yesterday."

"That's kinda funny," Mokuba said, grinning.

"What is?"

"Yugi and Seto are rivals," he pointed to her, "and you're working for my brother, so technically, you two are working as rivals now. It's all about teamwork!" He laughed at his own joke. She didn't get it, but she laughed too.

The shop was to the street across from them, but they had to wait until the crosswalk light changed. She was leaning against the pole when Mokuba gasped, "No. . .way. . .!"

Following his gaze, she spotted a young boy standing across the street. He was close to Mokuba's age, maybe a little older, with aquamarine hair and a white pant suit. Big blue eyes just stared at them, "Mokuba, who is that?'

"Noah?" He took off running, forgetting where he was.

"Mokuba! Wait!" She ran after him, hoping that any cars coming would stop.

They made it across in one piece, though by Mokuba's face she could sense that something was very wrong with this picture. The boy before her looked amazingly like Seto, only slightly different from the boy she remembered. He just stood there as Mokuba asked, "Noah, how. . .? I thought. . . Your mind . . .!"

"Mokuba, it's great to see you, truly, but you and Seto are in grave danger." There was a deep urgency in his voice.

"Seto's in danger?" Kisara asked, her heart skipping a beat, "What do you mean, 'danger'?"

He shook his head, "It would take me to long to explain, but right now we _have_ to find him! I've been trying to call the main office all day, but no one's answered. I was on my way to get Yugi and the others, since I need their help."

"Noah, what's happening? What's going on?!" Mokuba shouted, fearful.

Noah shook his head, "In a moment, right now we need to find Seto. I thought you two would be together, but this is much better--"

"Seto's working at the company building right now," answered Mokuba.

Kisara started running, heading directly towards the big bright building in the center of the city, her heart racing. Mokuba called after her, and was about to give chase, but Noah grabbed his arm, "No, Mokuba. I don't know what they want, but I'm sure they'll use you to get to Seto."

"Noah, let me go!" He started to tear up, "Please, Noah, he's our brother!"

"I know that!" He shouted back, "But you getting caught up in it with him isn't going to do anyone any good, now, is it?" Mokuba quieted, and Noah continued, "Come on, let's go talk to Yugi. We're not big enough to stop them, anyway."

Watching as Kisara quickly grew smaller and smaller into the distance, Mokuba reluctantly turned and started for Mr. Moto's shop, praying with every fiber of his being that everything would be okay.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The lights were flicking on and off again, but that was normal on a day where they did system work. Seto sat back in his chair, filing out the accident reports on the ships that had burned up last night. Luckily, there wasn't to much damage, and none of the sailors were injured, however it would be a few months before the ships were ready to launch again.

_What a day_, he thought, resting his head in his hands. First, the phone had kept ringing and ringing, but the number was some pay phone, so he decided it was just easier to turn off the phone than deal with another prank call. Then he'd had this unreal sick feeling to his stomach, as if there was something extremely wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe there had been more damage done to the tankers than he thought? Whatever it was, it seemed to crawl through his stomach like an eel, his body succumbing to a strange queasiness.

This time the entire building shut down, meaning the lock on the doors would be offline. Sighing, Seto stood, getting ready to tell those mechanics how it was done, when there was a knock at the door. Straightening his tie, he said, "Yes, come in."

The form that entered was draped all in dark clothing, and with the lights out it was difficult to make out his face. The glint of cold eyes reflected off of the golden eye that rested in the middle of his forehead, yet the rest of his body was covered. Surprised, but determined not to show weakness, Seto demanded, "Who are you? How did you get in here? This is a restricted area."

"I am Heishin, and you will come with us now." The voice was deep, menacing, but something in Seto's mind told him that he'd heard it before.

Readying himself to fight, Seto said, "I'm not going anywhere."

"You don't have much of a choice, my boy."

Cold. That was all he felt as the man he thought was dead entered the room. Still wearing that ridiculous red suit, Gozaboro Kaiba looked even more corrupted than the last time Seto had seen his face. Wearing a demented grin, he laughed darkly, "What, no hug for your father?"

"No . . ." Seto took a step back, "This isn't real; it's a dream. . .!"

Somehow Gozaboro had managed to get only inches from Seto's face, as if he were a flash of light, "Are you retreating, boy? Didn't I teach you that that's a weakness?" His grin widened, "You'll have to be punished for that."

As Gozaboro's hand covered Seto's mouth, all he remembered thinking before the world went black was, _How did he get taller than me. . ._?

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Thanks again for reading this. Um, I'm working on a sort of cover for this story, so if you want to see it go to this link:**

.com/art/story-coverart-SetoXKisara-128314072

**Wonder if I'll get in trouble for that? lol**


	5. Nightmare

**Familiar Stranger**

**By Lindsay R. Honosky**

**Chapter Five: Nightmare**

**Yay chapter five! YAY REVIEWERS! I'm really glad that you guys like my story; it gives me something to look forward to doing. . . if that makes sense. This chapter isn't as dark as the last one, unfortunately that will probably change. Anyway, please read and review; I love hearing what you guys think of my story!**

Mahad rested his elbows on the counter, his eyes slowly drifting closed. No one had visited the store all day, save for Yugi's friends, and it wasn't like they were buying anything. _Keep your chin up!_ The old man had told him, _Why, with such a handsome young man working for me, I'll have _tons_ of new customers!_ He just laughed and laughed until his face was red; Mahad was just embarrassed. The soft _tap tap_ of gentle rainfall soothed him even closer to sleep, and he felt consciousness slowly drifting away. . .

_BAM!_

Snapping awake, he looked to the door to see two young boys, both breathing raggedly. Then he recognized one of them, "Mokuba? What are you doing here? Where's Kisara?" The boys looked up at him with horrified expressions, "What's happened?"

The boy with blue hair spoke, "We must speak with Yugi Moto; is he home?"

"Mokuba," he said again, a cold demeanor to his voice, "where is Kisara?"

Tears were in his eyes, "She ran to get my brother, but he's in danger, and--"

"Damn it!" Mahad slammed his fists down on the counter, "I knew this would happen! I should have never let her go--"

"I'm sorry Mahad. . ." Mokuba said, barely audible.

Mahad sighed, "No, Mokuba, I'm sorry. You're not the one at fault." Walking out from the counter, he motioned the two to follow him, "Yugi's in here. Come inside before you get soaked."

The store wasn't even separated by the house through a wall, but a simple curtain made of some rough purple material. Yugi was sitting on the couch eating potato chips while Joey and Tristan played some fighting game. Téa was the first to notice him, "Mahad, what's up--?" She gasped, her eyes growing wide, "N-N-N-Noah?"

The others instantly looked to the doorway, all eyes on the blue-haired boy. His facial expression didn't change, in fact it grew all the more serious. If he was feeling any sort of anxiety, Mokuba was the one displaying it for them. He simply coughed, "Hello, everyone."

"But--!" Joey stammered, "You died! In that video game--"

Noah eyed him flatly, "It wasn't a _video game_. It was far more complex than that."

"Regardless, Noah," Yugi stared, his face a picture of confusion, "how are you here? We all thought you were gone."

"Not that we wanted you to be," Téa added quickly, though she too was clearly shaken.

There was a hint of annoyance in the boy's voice, "We don't have time for all these questions. Besides, I don't have an answer for them anyway," he paused, "well, aside for why my mind is still intact. That I do have an explanation--"

"Noah," Mokuba whispered.

He coughed once more, "Ah, yes. If you would all sit down; this is going to be a little. . . strange." Everyone sat down, all eyes on Noah. Satisfied that no one else was going to interrupt him, Noah began, "I believe Seto and Mokuba are in danger, though why I still have no idea. Like I said before, I am here because I had saved a copy of my mind to another system. The data survived, though why I have a body as of now. . ." He hesitated, the smallest glimmer of fear in his eye, "I do not know. But what I _do _know is that my data alone has not left the back-up system--"

Mokuba gripped the locket that rested against his chest, "You don't mean--?"

"Yes," Noah answered coolly, "he must be awake as well. I guess our father decided to steal more than one son's idea."

"Would anyone mind explaining to me what all this means?" Mahad snapped, rubbing his finger against his forehead.

"It's a long story--" Yugi started, laughing a little.

"How can you laugh?! If that Kaiba idiot's thick enough to get himself in trouble, he should just leave it at himself! Why did Kisara have to get involved?!" He slashed his hand through the air, "I want more details on exactly what's going on, kid, now!"

Noah held firm, "If you would calm down you would realize that my father wouldn't know your girlfriend's face, so there's nothing to worry about."

Mahad turned deep red, "She's not my girlfriend, you little punk--"

"Noah?" Mokuba looked even worse than he did before, "Didn't that system you trapped us in read our memories?"

"Yes, but what does that matter--?"

"Kisara," he paused, eyes hidden behind his bangs, "we knew her when we were little. Before we were adopted; she was the only friend I had besides Seto."

"What?!" Joey shouted, "You mean that nice chick was Kaiba's _friend_? Does that jerk even have friends?"

Mokuba scowled at him, "He's not a jerk; he just doesn't like you. And if you're going to keep talking that way about him, then I don't need your help; I'll save him myself."

Joey looked a little ashamed, "Hey, I'm sorry Mokuba; I didn't mean it."

Noah ignored the little outburst, instead rubbing his chin in deep thought, "I don't remember anything about that girl, but I also don't know how deep my father went into your memories. Let's just hope he stayed with those on the surface, though knowing him, he was probably very thorough."

"I still don't understand," Mahad fumed, "_Read your memories?_ What does that even mean? It's impossible," the room grew quiet, "Isn't it?"

Noah headed for the doorway, "I'll explain along the way. We need to get moving, now, or I fear we may be to late."

"Right," Joey nodded, fist clenched, "Let's go get the damsel in distress," he smirked, "oh, and Kisara too."

"Joey," Téa slapped the back of his head before heading out, closely followed by Yugi and Tristan. Neither one of them knowing exactly what to expect.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Something cold was pressed against his neck, but whenever he tried to see what it was strong hands held him in place. There was someone before him, though his eyes were blurred, as if he had just awoken from a deep sleep. His body was weak, and the sense of great evil was all around him. Then he heard voices. . ._

_"Unhand him, Heishin!" _I know that voice, _he thought, though his mind was still to confused to figure out exactly who it was._

_There was a cold cackling behind him, "I'll make you a deal, Prince. Hand over all the millennium items, and I'll release the boy."_

_"N-no, you mustn't--" His words were cut short by the blade slowly cutting into his neck. There was no pain, just the feeling of cool liquid running down his neck. _

_"Seto--!" The Prince cursed under his breath. Slowly Seto's eyes focused, and he saw Prince Atem, who was staring back at him with an intense glare. Memories suddenly flooded back, and Seto berated himself for being controlled so easily. Master Akhenaden had always warned him about the darkness in his heart; how easily it would be for someone to twist it to their will. Atem reached into the folds of his skirt, "Very well, release him."_

_"Hmph!" The knife left his neck, though it viciously bit into his back as Heishin pushed the young priest forward. At the same time he felt something just barely pass by his left ear, and his sinking feeling told him it was the millennium items. Unable to hold himself up, Seto fell to the floor, gasping._

_"Seto!" Cool hands grasped his shoulders, "What did you do to him? Answer me!"_

_Heishin lifted the bloodstained knife, "Did you know of that boy's bloodline? No, of course not; your father would never have wanted you to know." Behind him was a stone tablet with impressions in the shape of the items. Placing each one where it would fit, Heishin then slid the blood from the blade onto the stone. It drank it as if it were a living thing, "The priest you now hold in your arms is the descendant of the dark bloodline that created these _Shadow Games_ you and I are so fond of. When I found out the power that I could harness from the boy, I waited for the right moment to take him under my control."_

_"You. . .!" Prince Atem growled, "You knew the High Priests would be away, leaving my father and mother defenseless."_

_"And you two as well," the stone began to pulse with dark energy. Heishin continued, "It was rather easy; controlling Seto. Do you know his story, Prince? Of how his entire village was slaughtered by bandits? To bad you're about to die; it's rather heart-breaking."_

_"Enough! What is it that you are doing?"_

_Seto coughed, answering weakly, "He is. . . summoning. . . DarkNite. . .!"_

_There was a loud explosion, then all went dark once more. . ._

It was dark, and his head was pounding. Seto tried to move, only to find that something bound his wrists. _What was that_? He thought, trying to sit up but failing. The room he was in was very small; his legs touched a wall before he could full stretch out. _I must be in the closet,_ he assumed, remembering the layout of his office. But that didn't make sense; why would they have kept him there instead of removing him? No, that wasn't the question he wanted to ask, the question he should have asked was why were _they_ in his office? _That man,_ the dream he had came back vividly, _he called himself 'Heishin'_. But that was just a dream, wasn't it? A cold chill passed through him as his step-father's face came to mind. Biting back fear, Seto cursed allowed instead. _Why is he here? He died!_ That world was destroyed, along with his step-brother Noah, however it was possible to copy the data, he supposed. That still didn't explain how his father had stood before him.

The sound of a lock clinking snapped him out of his thoughts. Thinking quickly, Seto closed his eyes, pretending he was still unconscious. It was difficult breathing calmly when he heard Gozaboro's voice, "So this boy hold some strange power, that's what you're telling me?"

"Yes," _that voice! It is the same!_ Heishin must have been standing behind his step-father, "We need him in order to fulfill our purpose."

"Hmph," Gozaboro grumbled, "such a troublesome brat. You couldn't image what I had to put up with."

"It must have been tiresome."

The sick laugh that haunted Seto's dreams echoed in the tiny room, "Well, not all of it." Gozaboro bent down, grabbing Seto's chin harshly, "I know you're awake, boy. I thought you'd know by now you can't hide anything from me." His fist slammed hard into the side of Seto's face.

Blood filled his mouth. Taking aim, Seto spat it all over his step-father's white shoes, "Forgive my ignorance, Father."

Gozaboro stood, his face cold, "I think it's time for more punishment, Seto." Before he could come back with anything, Gozaboro's foot buried itself in Seto's stomach, knocking him cold.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The men who were on guard duty lay across the ground, unconscious. Kisara bit her lower lip, bracing herself for what she might face. The building was normally lit as bright as the sun during this hour, however all the lights, inside and out, were shut off. Something was extremely wrong, and everything in her body told her to run. Then she thought of Seto, and took a step forward, followed by another, until she broke into a run once more, racing through the main lobby to the elevators.

They were offline, much like the rest of the building. _Great,_ she thought, laughing, _of course his office is on the top floor._ The top floor was fifteen stories up. In the darkness she searched for the service stairwell, wishing that she had brought a flashlight. She finally found the door leading to the stairs, though when she opened it the room was even darker than the lobby. "Okay," she said to herself, "I'll just feel my way to the top. What's the worst that could happen?" A little voice in the back of her mind screamed, _A BROKEN ANKLE! BROKEN NECK! BROKEN EVERYTHING!_ She sighed, feeling for the handle, "Nothing will get broken if I walk. One step at a time. . ." And she did go one step at a time, however Kisara decided that she could handle fifteen flights of stairs at a steady jog, in pitch darkness.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_He was dreaming again, though this time it was about him. _I remember this_, Seto thought, _it was the time when I first met her. . .

_There was a circle of boys surrounding someone, but Seto couldn't see over them. The older boys seemed to like picking on the younger kids, especially if they were new. He could still count the scars on his body from the time they had picked on Mokuba. He decided to get closer, the older boys obviously not noticing him._

_"Come on, meat, where'd you come from?" It was one of the older boys, Sammy. He had a big, ugly face covered in zits, a nice big pig nose in the middle of his face. All his goons soon followed his example. They started to get closer to their target, laughing and taunting at the same time._

_Seto heard a tiny voice from the middle of the circle, "Leave me alone, skunk breath, or I'll break your teeth!"_

_Sammy moved a little to the right, revealing his prey. It was a small boy, really pale with a baseball cap covering blond hair. He just stood there, glaring at the boy who was at least twice his size. Blue eyes burned with such an intensity that Seto thought the kid might be able to stand his ground. . .if the kid wasn't so small, that is. Sammy just laughed, clenching his fist, "You're a brave little snot; that needs to be fixed. Brace yourself, punk." The kid just stood there, glaring even more._

_"Run, kid!" Seto jumped in the middle, taking the blow. Before anyone knew what was happening, the new kid grabbed Seto's wrist, taking off between Sammy and one of his goons. Looking back, Seto saw they were chasing them. Getting in front of the kid, he screamed, "Follow me!" He didn't answer, but kept up as best he could with Seto. There was a bridge farther north of the orphanage; underneath it was a tiny ravine that the older boys were to afraid to go into. They had fallen behind them, anyway, but still Seto thought it would be safer to hide in there for an extra thirty minutes or so, until that idiot cooled down. _

_The boy behind him stopped at the opening. "What are you doing?" Seto asked, grabbing his arm, "They'll find us in the open like this!"_

_"It's to dark. . ." Seto almost laughed; the kid was afraid of the dark but would just stand there and get pummeled by a bunch of bullies._

_Seto started to pull, "It's alright; I'll be in there with you, now come on!"_

_"No--!"_

_"Stop being so stupid--!"_

_"Hey, stop! I'm gonna fall--!" They crashed to the ground, one on top of the other. Seto felt long hair hit his face, but that wasn't right; the boy had short hair, didn't he?_

_When Seto opened his eyes, sitting on top of him was a little girl, not a boy, who looked extremely embarrassed. That was nothing to the feeling Seto had, "Y-y-you're a girl?!"_

_She got off of him, "Yeah, so what?"_

_"I thought--but you--what?"_

_"Hey! There they are! Get'em!"_

_Seto frowned, "Later, follow me for now." He started into the ravine._

_"I," the girl covered her head, "I can't. The darkness--!"_

_He grabbed her hand, gently, "I'll be with you; nothing will happen if I'm there."_

_She looked up at him, just staring. She was a lot prettier than Seto thought before. . . Shaking his head, he pulled her into the dark ravine, "Come on, this way!"_

_They waited until the sun set, Sammy and his friends already returned to the orphanage. Seto stepped out first, helping the girl out. She looked paler than she did earlier that day. Smiling as nicely as he could, Seto asked, "Are you okay?"_

_"Y-yeah," she grabbed her hat that had fallen to the ground, dusting off the dirt. Seto watched as she hid the rest of her hair underneath the hat, though now that Seto knew she was a girl the illusion sort of didn't work. Seeming to realize this, the girl took the hat back off, clipping it around a belt loop._

_He seemed in a trance around her, unable to look away. He guess she caught him staring, "You know, a picture would last longer."_

_"Oh, uh," he blushed, "well, um. . . what's your name, anyway?"_

_"Kisara," she smiled, "and thanks, you know, for saving me. I owe you one, um. . .?"_

_"Seto. . ."_

"Seto. . ."

Someone was calling his name. The voice was familiar, but his head hurt to much to put the voice to a face.

"Seto!"

The room was still dark when he opened his eyes, the silhouette of a woman crouching next to him. Struggling, his voice cracked, he asked, "Kisara?"

"Oh thank God," she sounded so relieved that he thought she would break down and cry, "you wouldn't respond for the longest time. I thought--" She stopped, bending down and hugging him tightly, "Never mind what I thought, you're okay."

He laughed, "Only you would consider being tied up in a closet 'okay'."

"You know, if you're going to be a smart ass, I could just leave you behind." She said, eying him flatly.

"No you couldn't; you'd feel to guilty."

"Yeah, you're right," she reached behind him, finding the ropes that bound his wrists, "I wouldn't want to make Mokuba cry."

"Mokuba. . .?!"

"Is fine; he and a friend went to Yugi's place." She cursed at the knot that was holding the rope.

"A friend? Who?"

"Um, some kid named Noah--"

"Noah!?" The rope was loose enough for him to slide his wrists through, "So, he's here too." Seto rubbed the raw places on his wrists, trying to get blood flowing in his hands once more. He reached down to untie the ropes that held his legs, "How did you get in here? Weren't there two men in the office?"

She frowned, "I didn't see anyone, save all the unconscious people in the hallway." She reached down to help him with the ropes, "Seto, what's going on?"

Their hands touched, and both looked up at each other. For a moment nothing was said, until Seto snapped out of it, "There isn't enough time to explain. We need to get out of here." The ropes fell from his legs, though they still felt very numb.

"Can you walk?" Kisara asked, standing.

He used the side of the door to help him stand, "I'll be fine--!"

Kisara caught him before he could fall over, "Lean on me until you get the feeling back in your legs, okay?"

"I don't need--"

"Yes, you do need help," she shot him a look, one that told him not to argue. "Come on; we have to take the stairs, so be careful." Together they walked out of the room, slightly illuminated by the huge windows at the end behind Seto's desk. Just as she said, no one was there. It was a little suspicious, but they couldn't just stay there. Kisara had left the door open, though nothing could be seen beyond its frame. The sound of their footfalls was all that echoed in the hall; it was as if everyone in the world had disappeared, save them.

The feeling in his legs started to come back, and Seto gently lifted himself from Kisara's shoulder, "Thank you; I'm fine now."

"Are you sure?" She looked over him as if she could find some hidden injury, "We still have a lot of stairs to climb."

"I'll be fine by the time we reach the stairs, now," he started to walk ahead of her, "come on. We should get out of here before they realize that I'm gone."

She watched him closely as he started down the stairs, satisfied that he wasn't lying about feeling better. Glancing behind her, she thought she had seen two shapes moving, but there was nothing there. When she looked back Seto was already halfway down the stairwell, "Hey!" She called, "Wait for me!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The night air was cool and refreshing on his face. Seto closed his eyes, letting the breeze wash over him. Kisara stood next to him, looking over the pier they had decided to rest at. It was to dangerous to go back to Seto's house, so they planned to go to Kisara's instead. She had called Mahad ahead of time, only to realize that he had planned on busting into the KaibaCorp. building with Yugi and friends. She'd laughed at that, teasing him for a good five minutes. When she noticed he was getting a little mad, she told him 'thank you', which only made him stutter afterward. _He's been acting so strange, lately._ She sighed, taking a deep breath of the ocean air. She shivered, "Achoo!"

Seto looked over, the slightest hint of concern in his eyes, "Are you alright?"

She sniffed, "Yeah, I'm fine, just a little cold--Oh!"

He draped his jacket around her shoulders, "There aren't any sleeves, but it should be warm enough."

"Thank you, Seto."

He blushed, but didn't say anything. For the longest time they just stood there, watching the sun set. Still looking out to sea, Seto said, "I dreamed of you."

"Oh?" She giggled, "Did you now? About what?"

"The day I first met you," he was smiling, "why did you pretend to be a boy, anyway?"

She pouted, "Of all the things for you to remember. . ."

"I'm serious."

She traced the lining of the jacket's collar, "I dunno. I never really liked being around other girls. They would always tease me or beat me up, so I thought I'd try being a boy."

"Did you think wearing a hat would really work?"

"I got into an all boy orphanage, didn't I?" She countered, smirking.

He shrugged, "I think it was just because the old man was to nice to turn you away."

"Yeah," she said, looking down, "you're right. He let me stay until Sammy and the others got to _that_ age."

"I was gone before then, wasn't I?"

She nodded, "Why did you leave, Seto? You knew what kind of man Gozaboro was."

She saw his eyes grow cold, "No, I never imagined what kind of man he was. . ."

"Seto?"

"I did it for Mokuba." His hands gripped the railing of the fence tightly, making his knuckles white, "I didn't ever want him to fear not having a home ever again. Besides, I promised I would always protect him. It was my mother's dying wish."

"What was she like?"

"Hm?"

"Your mother," she asked, frowning. "I never knew my parents; I was abandoned as a baby, so I don't even have a face to remember."

"Her name was Adina," he laughed a little, "Mokuba looks just like her. I wanted him to see what she looked like, so I made a special program for this virtual game I'm designing where the princess looked like our mother. I guess Mokuba didn't know that though, since he kept asking why I turned him into a girl." He sighed, "She was very beautiful. And kind; stubborn. A lot like you, actually."

She blushed, "That's great that you remember her."

"She was an amazing woman. Even though she knew she was going to die, she kept smiling, asking about Mokuba and me," he paused, "I think she held on long enough to see me, one last time. I used to think that, if I had never gone to see her, maybe she would've held on longer. . ."

"Seto. . ."

He turned to her, a sad smile on his face, "I know; I was only five at the time. My dad was afraid I would hate Mokuba because of our mother, but I just loved him all the more for it." He looked down, "He was all my father and I had left of her."

She giggled, "You know, you might act tough, but you're a real softy at heart, aren't you?"

He blushed wildly, "W-what? I don't _act_ tough!"

"Uh-huh," she said, poking him in the chest, "sure you don't, Mr. I'm-the-most-powerful-blah-blah! I've seen the faces you make and I've definitely heard how you talk to people." She started poking him everywhere, "What 'til the world hears that the scary Mr. Kaiba is actually no more frightening than a little kitten!"

"Stop poking me!" He demanded.

"Why?"

"If you don't," he said, glaring, "something bad will happen?"

She backed off instantly. Then she remembered his face as she was doing her poking; the slightest hint of a smile being held back. _Oh my gosh,_ she thought, giggling, _he's ticklish!_ She smiled at him mischievously.

"Don't--"

"Stop me, then!" And away her hands flew, covering his stomach from top to bottom. He was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes, and wiggling so much several times Kisara thought he would fall over the railing.

He finally managed to grab both of her wrists, "I told you not to do that," he forced her arms down to her sides, "now something bad will happen."

She didn't like the look in his eye, but she didn't back down either, "Oh yeah? What?"

His lips engulfed hers, and for a moment she didn't realize what had happened. She felt his hands slowly lift from her wrists, as one gently wrapped itself around her head. She closed her eyes, overtaken by the warmth that she was feeling. Her hands slowly went to his face, and they broke apart, breathless. Kisara stared at him, "How was that 'bad'?"

He smirked, sending chills up her spine, "Should I try again?"

Their faces grew closer once more, and his lips were only inches from hers--

"There you two are!"

Kisara fell into Seto's chest, her face on fire. Seto stood strong, holding her up, as Yugi ran towards them. The boy was gasping for breath, "We. . . we were so worried about you two! Come on! Mahad and the others are all out searching for you guys."

Seto glared at him, "Yugi! Did," he was blushing fiercely, "did you see anything?"

"Huh?" He just looked back at him with huge confused eyes, "What are you talking about, Kaiba?" Then he looked down at Kisara, who had buried her face in Seto's chest, "Kaiba? Is Kisara okay?"

"I'm fine!" She shouted, a little to loudly. Laughing, she began to wobble forward, "Let's not keep everyone waiting! Come on, guys!" Seto trailed after her, his face still red as Yugi bombarded him with questions.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Sorry that last link didn't work. I'm currently coloring the cover now, but I have the lining up on deviantart, so if you just look up Seto X Kisara you should be able to find it. I don't think links will work on this site. . . it's also under the artist name linzy3419. . . yeah, I know, original, huh? Lol  
**


	6. Warnings from the Past

**Familiar Stranger**

**By Lindsay R. Honosky**

**Chapter Six: Warnings from the Past**

**Oh man, I am _so_ sorry it has taken me so long to update! I just hope you guys are still reading this. . . Anyway, thank you all for your kind reviews, and I hope you are enjoying my story!**

Kisara made sure she stayed a couple of feet ahead of the men walking behind her, to embarrassed to let them see her face. She knew without looking that it was beat red. Their kiss replayed over and over in her mind as if it were on a broken film reel. _I hope I calm down before we get to the others_, she wished, holding her face. Her mind played their kiss once more, the feeling of his lips touching hers--

"Kisara!" Someone grabbed her, and she heard something flash by her left. Looking up, Seto was glaring down at her, "Aren't you looking where you're going? You almost walked right into traffic!"

"What. . .?" Sure enough, she had somehow wobbled over to the far left of the sidewalk. One more step and she would've been kissing pavement. Unable to meet his glance, Kisara pushed away, "S-sorry. I wasn't thinking."

Yugi caught up with them, asking frantically, "Kisara, are you okay?! You almost got hit by that car!" He looked at her face, "Do you have a fever? You skin's flushed."

"I, um," she turned quickly, walking ahead of them, "my house is just down this street. Come on! Everyone's waiting."

Seto watched her as she stumbled forward, then sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Hopeless."

"What was that?" Yugi asked, eyes still following Kisara as if she would walk back into the road once more.

"Nothing. Come on, let's go."

Apparently Kisara's sense of direction had gone south once again, for they had walked for a good hour or so and still were no where near her apartment. They'd decided to stop a the local park as she called Mahad for directions. The park was lit by beautifully crafted lanterns that lined the cobblestone pathways; oaks, dogwoods, and other trees towered over their heads, the canopies making the star-filled sky look as if it were covered by a piece of tattered paper. The small lake that rested in the center glittered in the moonlight, the beach now barren of the children that normally would play in its sand. Yugi stood near the water, trying to skip stones across the surface. Seto watched him for a while, then grew bored, allowing his mind to drift.

His first dream came to mind; it was so much like the one he'd experienced in Egypt, though it felt more like a dream than reality. The man he'd seen, Heishin, was definitely the same man he'd seen in his office with his step-father, but how was that possible? People didn't come to life just because you dreamed about them. Then again, his step-father had technically become just that, yet he stood before him and even punched him once or twice. None of it made any sense, and that's what drove him insane. Seto Kaiba could handle sense, however things that were unexplainable or irrational would take him down in seconds. Knowing he would regret this, he called out, "Yugi. . . Can I talk to you for a moment?"

There was a loud splash as Yugi turned his head, "Sure, Kaiba. What's up?"

He checked over his shoulder to see where Kisara had gone. She was walking around in circles, her phone to her ear, screaming at who she guess was that Mahad person. Satisfied that she wouldn't hear them, Seto started, "When I was in my office, a man appeared."

"You're step-father?"

"Yes, but there was another before him," he sighed, "his face was covered, save his eyes, and he wore this gold piece on his head with that eye symbol that's on your necklace."

"My necklace?" Yugi looked concerned, "Kaiba, what happened? I've never seen you this rattled."

He looked at his hands, as if there was an answer written in his palms, "I, when I was unconscious, I had a dream. It was about me, but it wasn't--!" He clenched his fists, slamming them down onto his legs, "I don't understand! What's going on?!"

Yugi's face seemed to age at least ten years, and there was a sadness in his voice, "You saw yourself, in the past. It was like that time--"

"That was just--!"

"How long are you going to deny what you are, Seto?!" He was taken aback; he'd never seen Yugi in such a rage before, "Until you accept your past, not only are you going to be in danger, but you''ll endanger the ones around you! Think of Mokuba, and even Kisara!" He frowned, eyes softening, "Now, tell me what you saw. I'll help you as best I can, Kaiba."

Seto hesitated, unsure of himself. It was crazy what he saw, what he felt; but he hadn't experienced these feelings alone. Yugi and his friends had all been in that dream. Taking a breath to calm himself, Seto started explaining his dream. Yugi sat, listening to every word. It was hard at first, but once Seto finally finished talking, he felt strangely relieved. There was silence for a long while, save for Kisara's occasional, "You couldn't direct traffic!" insult, or something a bit more colorful. Tired of waiting, Seto asked, "Well?"

"It sounds like this happened before what we saw, with Zorc and Bakura." Yugi scratched his chin, "To be honest, I really don't know anything about this DarkNite person, Heishin, or anything about some bloodline. I might have shared minds with the ancient Pharaoh, but even he didn't have his full memories until he left."

Seto's head dropped, "So we have no answers?"

"We don't," Yugi answered, smiling, "but I know three people who might."

"No."

"Huh?" Yugi asked, surprised, "Why not? I'm sure Ishizu and her brother could help."

"I can't--"

"What? Admit she was right?" He wore a smug grin, "I don't think you have much choice, Kaiba. Unless you want to keep walking in the dark."

Kisara watched as the two boys stared down each other, wondering what they were arguing about. It must've been a tough fight; both of them seemed like they were going to cut each others' throats. She sighed, wondering if it was safe to walk over there. It was probably better to split them up before it got to bad. Walking over, she heard Yugi say, "Ishizu's a nice lady! Why don't you trust her?"

"She's a crazy, Mrs. Cleo wannabe that thinks she can control me with bribes!"

"But she _does_ control you that way!"

"She does not!"

"Oh yeah?" Yugi was laughing, "Then explain Obelisk."

Kisara sat down between them, smiling sweetly, "We can go now, if you guys are ready."

Seto shot up, storming off to the right, "Lets go then; I'm worried about Mokuba being with Wheeler for to long."

Yugi stared at him flatly, "And why is that?"

"He might be infected by Wheeler's idiot disease."

Um," Kisara was pointing to the left, laughing weakly, "the apartment is this way, Seto."

Cursing wildly, Seto turned and started down the road, Yugi and Kisara laughing behind him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Seto!" Something small leaped out of her apartment door and latched around Seto's waist. Mokuba's head was buried into his brother's stomach, relieved sobs choking his words, "You're here! You. . . you're safe. . .!"

Seto patted his brother gently on the back, "It's alright Mokuba, now come on. Let's get inside."

As they disappeared inside, she heard a loud voice shout something along the lines of "the princess has returned", followed by a gruff response of "sorry, I don't speak furry." Kisara frowned, watching as Yugi put his face into his palm. Pointing, she asked, "What's that all about?"

"Let's just say Joey and Kaiba aren't exactly _close_." He walked into the open door, his voice soon adding to the now quite live and colorful language of the room.

"Kisara?" Looking up, she saw Mahad standing in the hallway. His face was expressionless.

She smiled, feeling guilty, "Hey, Mahad. . ."

Arms wrapped around her in a fierce embrace. Mahad prayed that no one could see his face; the tears welling up in his eyes, "Don't you _ever_ do that again! What were you thinking? Running in there, all alone! You were right next to the store!" His face calm once more, he continued, "Why is it so hard for you to ask me for help?"

She didn't meet his eyes, "I. . . I didn't think; I'm sorry, Mahad." The shame she felt was written all over her face.

Mahad found himself blushing. _Damn it!_ He cursed himself; he shouldn't be feeling this way about her. She was like a little sister to him. . . wasn't she? He let go of her, quickly turning toward their apartment, "I-it's alright. Just promise me you won't do anything like that again."

"Yeah, I promise." She followed him inside, only to find Seto standing in front of Joey, glaring down at him, this slightest hint of a smirk on his face. She sighed, getting in between the two, "Look. If you're going to fight, do it outside. This place isn't big enough for an all out brawl."

"Hmph," Seto turned, choosing to sit on the couch next to her, "he's not worth my time, anyway."

"You wanna say that again, pal?!" Joey lunged for him, forgetting that Kisara was in front of him.

They fell over, the small table behind them squeaking in protests as the two bodies fell to the ground. There was a collective gasp around the room as Joey and Kisara lay on the floor. Seto was standing, the anger clearly rising to its maximum level. Mahad was rushing over from the kitchen, wondering what the noise was. Then, without warning, Kisara started laughing. Tears were in her eyes, and she rolled from side to side gasping for breath. Joey got up before her, stammering, "Oh man, Kisara! I'm so, so sorry!" He reached down to help her up.

She was still laughing when she grabbed his hand, "Are you guys always so energetic?"

"What was that noise?" Mokuba emerged from the back hallway, Noah beside him. It grew uncomfortably quiet once more as the boy glared at Seto, the older boy returning the glance. Mokuba kept going back and forth, then suddenly stomped his foot, "Enough! You two are family, and that's what we're going to act like; family!"

There was a strange look in Noah's eyes, "Seto?"

"Whatever." Seto closed his eyes and sat back down, "I suppose I'll just forget the fact that you tried to kill us no more than a year ago."

"Good, now that that's settled," Mokuba rubbed his stomach, "Kisara, do you have anything to eat? I'm starving."

Mahad answered, "Téa and Tristan went to the store to get something to eat; they should be back soon." He smiled warmly, "Why don't you go to Kisara's room, you two? She's got a GameCube in there."

"A game cube?" Noah asked, looking at Mokuba.

Mahad laughed, "Oh, right. Come on, I'll show you."

Kisara put her hands on her hips, "I don't remember giving you permission to go into my room."

He shrugged, "I don't remember every caring that I got it." Before she could protest further, he was leading the two boys down the hallway. She heard the door open, followed by Mokuba's voice saying, "oh wow! It's messier than my room!"

Giving up, Kisara sank down on the couch next to Seto, cradling her head between her legs. She was more tired than she'd thought. The room was silent, and the tension way to high for her tastes. She knew if she looked up, the three men in the room would all be trying to kill each other with looks. The silence was starting to get annoying. Reaching for the remote (which got knocked off the table thanks to her and Joey's tumble), Kisara turned on the tv. The news blared inside the room, the volume up so high it made the men jump. Giggling, Kisara simply said, "Sorry."

The sound seemed to loosen everyone up. Joey sat back in his seat, crossing his legs, "So, what's going on?"

"Maybe we should ask Noah?" Seto suggested, not really looking at anyone, his voice muffled by the back of his hand.

Yugi shook his head, "He knows just about as much as we do, Kaiba."

"So then, that really only leaves us with," he sighed, "_them_."

"Them?" Kisara sat up, "Who's 'them'?"

Yugi laughed a little, "Some old friends who helped us a while back. Or, well," he scratched the back of his head, "helped me and a friend, that is. All they've done to Kaiba is cause trouble, really. . ."

She frowned, "Isn't there anyone else, then?"

Yugi put a finger to his mouth, pretending to think, "Well, there is Pegasus--"

"Absolutely not!" Seto's shout startled her for a moment. There was a hint of annoyance the next time he spoke, "I'd rather deal with those nut-jobs than that flamboyant, sadistic, maniac!"

"Um," Kisara raised her hand, "w-who is this guy?"

Joey laughed, "Don't worry; he's not as bad as Kaiba wants you to think."

"Then it's settled." Yugi stood, "Kisara, where's your phone?"

"Won't it be a little late to call them?" Joey asked.

Seto eyed him flatly, "They're in a different time zone, idiot."

"I knew that!"

"Where do they live?" Kisara asked, putting her knees under her chin.

"Egypt."

"Isn't that a little far away?" She asked, laughing nervously, "I don't exactly have free long distance. . ."

"Kaiba'll pay for it." Joey said, smirking.

"What--?"

"Oh, well then, the phone's in the kitchen, Yugi. On the counter next to the coffee pot."

He turned and left for the kitchen, "Be back in a minute."

Kisara turned and smiled at Seto. He looked away, mumbling, "I'm not paying the bill."

She popped out of her sitting position, "What? Hey, that's not fair!" She punched him in the arm, "I'm not made of money like some people, you know!"

"Then maybe you should've asked me before calling people who live in a completely different country?"

She punched him again, "You're such an asshole!" Trying to give her best JoJo impression, Kisara began pummeling him with her tiny fists, "Maybe I'll just beat the crap out of you and steal your wallet!"

"What is this, the wind?" He was smirking down at her, "Whenever you decide to actually hit me, let me know." This went on for a while until they heard Joey laughing.

Watching them both, he said with disbelief, "Wow, who would've thought. You really are his girlfriend, aren't you?"

"G-girlfriend?" They both stammered, turning red.

"Heh heh," Joey rubbed his nose, "I never knew you were capable of blushing, Kaiba."

"It's almost as surprising as when I found you could form complete sentences, Wheeler." shot back Seto, not missing a beat.

They continued to argue, however none of it reached Kisara. _Girlfriend? Me?_ Was she really his girlfriend? I mean, yeah, they had kissed, and she did care for him. . . A smile came to her face, and a warm feeling engulfed her, like a gentle summer rain had just washed over her. She wanted to giggle, but then reminded herself that Seto wasn't the same person. Maybe he was just using her; it wouldn't be the first time a guy had done so. _No_, she told herself, _he's not like that. And I'm sure he'd actually _say_ we were dating if we were. . . wouldn't he._ Coming back to reality, she found the two still at each others' throats.

"Yeah? Well at least I don't spend all my time locked away in some lab making children toys!" Joey was clenching his fist, scowling.

Seto was simply leaning back on the couch, legs crossed, "No, you're the one who plays with them." He smirked as Joey lept from his seat.

"Are we going out?" The room went silent. Joey stopped, almost as if he'd frozen in air. Kisara just stared at Seto, unwavering.

**XXX**

Seto, for the first time in years, looked dumbfounded. He could feel his cheeks burning under her gaze, and with Wheeler around it only made it worse. _Are we going out?_ He couldn't find words, in fact, the English language was about as intelligible to him as a bunch of scribbles by a five-year-old right now. The silence was becoming almost unbearable, and he could slowly see a small hint of doubt creep into Kisara's eyes--

"Hey, Joey!" No one had heard the door open. Tristan stood in the doorway, his hands full of groceries, "Come give us a hand, will ya? This stuff's heavy."

"A hand, uh, yeah!" He rushed out as if someone had a gun to his head, "Be right there!" The door slammed behind him, followed by a muffled shout of "You're never gonna believe what just happened!"

They were alone again, though when he looked back Kisara had hidden her face from him. The strangest feeling went through him then, and he didn't like it. Not really knowing what he was doing, he watched as his hand gently lifted her head back to where their eyes would meet. There were tears in her eyes, and that feeling only grew worse. He had hurt her. In his silence, he had hurt her. Like he had so many others. His hand slowly caressed her cheek, and before he knew it Seto had kissed her again. He heard a small moan, then pulled back. Smiling, he said, "Don't ever cry again." He wiped away a tear that had fallen, "Ever."

"Seto. . ." Their lips touched slightly, then with a hunger he never knew he had, Seto kissed her fiercely. She moaned once more, sending chills up his spine. Unsure of what to actually do, Seto gently slid his tongue into her mouth, and found that she was trying to do the same. Their fight for dominance was short-lived, as he kissed her more deeply, tasting every corner of her. Time seemed not to exist, as if they were in their own universe. His hand slid up and down the small of her back, making her press up against his body. He was amazed at how good this felt, his and her breath mingling together as their body heat rose. For what seemed like forever, they broke apart, gasping.

Mokuba was standing behind the couch, giggling. Noah, both hands on his hips, stated flatly, "If you're going to eat the poor girl's face, at least do it somewhere away from innocent eyes."

And for the second time, Seto Kaiba was speechless.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kisara was happy that Seto and Mokuba had found good people to be around. Yugi and his friends were all very kind, and extremely funny, in their own way. Mahad had even warmed up to them, which was a good sign. She had decided that Noah and Mokuba would sleep in her room, since her bed was just big enough for two boys their size, while Mahad had offered his room to she and Téa. Of course, Téa had insisted she go back home, least her parents worry, so that basically meant she would still have a room all to herself, while five grown men slept in the living room. She almost felt guilty. . . almost. Flopping down onto the mattress, Kisara let out a deep sigh, thinking back on the past few days. Before she knew it, her eyes had closed, and she drifted off to sleep.

It was close to four in the morning when a knock came at the door. Still half asleep, Kisara sat up, rubbing her eyes, "Yes? Who is it?"

The door opened gently, making only a small sqeaking sound. The frame of a man stood in the doorway, but because of the light she couldn't make out who it was. At least, that was until he spoke, "Did I wake you?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes, "It's four in the morning; what do you think, Seto?"

"Can I come in?"

She knew he was going to anyway, but she still said, "Yes." The door closed, and the room grew dark again. She could hear him shuffling across the floor, then felt the matress dip as his hand pressed down upon it. She reached out to him and guided him to where he could sit without falling off the side. It was hard to see his face in the dark, though his eyes held an eerily beautiful glow in the light of the window. Frowning, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"I can't sleep in there with those two," she heard him sigh, and felt his head shift into his hands.

She laughed, "Mahad and Tristan are in there too--"

"Yes, and I'm sure that an explosion wouldn't wake them if it went off right beside their ears."

"Well," she pulled the covers down, "why are Joey and Yugi keeping you awake?"

"It's like they're two school girls at a sleep over! They haven't stopped talking since everyone _said_ they were going to sleep. And of course, they think it's damn good fun to include me into their little gossip session."

"Well, you are an extremely interesting character."

"I'm to tired to be snide."

"You just were, five seconds ago." She laughed as he growled at her. Sighing, she started scooting over, "Alright, climb in then."

"What?"

"That's what you came in here for, isn't it? It's not like we've never slept in the same bed before, right?"

"Well, that's different. I mean, before neither one of us even knew what puberty was--"

"Just climb in," she demanded, rolling over on her side. For a moment she thought he was going to get up and leave. Instead she heard a soft shuffling, and then felt the bed dip deeper as Seto crawled into it. She assumed he was laying straight on his back, when she felt something cold touch her leg.

In a strangled, funny voice, Seto asked, "D-do you have pants on?!"

Her heart skipped a beat, and she remembered she had just stolen one of Mahad's big shirts to sleep in, forsaking pajama bottoms for just her panties. She shrieked, and Seto's hand shot back. All she heard was his repeated, "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!", until she started laughing. Soon enough, he started as well, until they were both breathless. Kisara's eyes had started to adjust to the light, and she could faintly make out his features as she settled down. He was watching her, a strange expression on his face. They were closer than they were a moment ago, separated by mere inches. Staring back at him, she whispered, "I love you, Seto."

Their lips met, and he kissed her deeply. His hand was on her back now, pulling her closer to his body. Kisara entwined her fingers into his hair, gasping as his lips traced the nape of her neck. Then she felt his hand slowly stroke her thigh, higher hand higher. . .

And she pushed him out of the bed, a loud _thump_ heard over his surprised yelp. Sitting up, he exclaimed, "What was that about?!"

She was blushing wildly, thanking the night for the dark. Taking a deep, she said, "You were, um, did you know what you were touching?"

"Your leg?"

"You were almost. . .!" She couldn't bring herself to say it. She could hear him laughing, "What's so funny?"

He wore a crooked smile, almost threatening, yet extremely mocking, "You've never _done_ it, have you?" His answer was a pillow to the face. After removing the feathers from his mouth, Seto laughed some more, "Wow, who would've thought. In this day and age--"

"So you're saying I'm weird for not. . . not 'doing' it?" She was almost screaming, but remembered all the sleeping individuals in the other room. . . and the two who weren't. She raised an eyebrow, "Have. . .have you. . .?"

"Have I what?" That mocking tone was back in his voice.

"You know what." She eyed him flatly.

"Yes, if you must know. It doesn't take much, does it? To give yourself away. . ." His voice trailed off for a moment, an odd note to his words. Then he sighed, "To be honest, my first time wasn't anything romantic at all. I merely wanted to see what all the fuss was about."

"'What all the fuss was about'?" She asked, laughing. Kisara inched closer to the edge of the bed, "Well, what did your research conclude?"

His arms went to both her sides, trapping her between them. His eyes held a strange gleam, one that sent chills up her spine, "That with the right person, it could be absolutely astounding."

She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks again, "Um. . ." Then she felt his head in her lap, his breath relaxing with each second. She stroked his head soothingly.

"I'm sorry," he said, barely over a whisper, "I know you're not ready. I know you don't want to." There was something bitter about him, pained, "I know what it's also like, to not want to do anything."

She hugged him, "You have nothing to apologize for." It was silent for a long time, the question she wanted to ask hanging in the air, but she couldn't summon herself to ask it. Instead, she lifted his head in her hands, "Nothing will happen tonight, but my offer still stands."

Without a word, Seto stood and, instead of making her move to the other side once more, climbed over Kisara. Her heart seemed to stop when he was perched directly above her, watching as if in slow motion as he rested beside her. He was facing her then, his face so pained it almost made her cry. She began to stroke his head once more, "Whatever you're thinking over, whatever is hurting you, stop thinking about it. I'll watch over you."

He laughed, though it was weak with sleep, "You can barely watch yourself, let alone another person."

"Yeah, but I _like_ this person." She said, attempting his half smile but failing.

"Just stay with me," he was drifting to sleep, "stay. . .here. . ."

"I won't move an inch." She watched as his eyes gently closed, a smile creeping onto his face. He looked so peaceful then, hiding the past that had hurt him so. She continued to stroke his hair, feeling more protective than she had in almost seven years.


	7. The Sands of Egypt

**Familiar Stranger**

**By Lindsay R. Honosky**

**Chapter Seven: The Sands of Eygpt**

**I am so, so, so, so, SO sorry I've taken so long to update! Writer's block is a horrible affliction. . . Anyway, I hope you guys are still reading this, and I'm so happy you're all enjoying it as well as you are. I only hope I can keep pleasing you all, and thank you for reminding me to keep on my toes about my spelling (I'm a speed-checker, not a spell-checker, apparently, lol).**

**Please Read and Review! I'll shut up now so you can do just that! Lol  
**

She didn't remember falling asleep, but she did remember that she wasn't alone when she had closed her eyes. The cold, empty space to her right told her that reality was no longer true. Kisara groaned, groggy still from a restless night. She'd had nightmares, but as the sunlight crept in through the windows, its images evaded her. She was about to turn over and go back to sleep when she heard the bass in her room boom to life. She shot up out of bed, more startled than she thought she should've been. A little annoyed, Kisara walked briskly to her room, the door still shut tight. The lyrics of Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" blared from behind the door. She almost forgot how annoyed she was; it was a good song. Wiping the smile from her face, Kisara banged the door open.

She almost died from laughter. She didn't know why, but Joey had somehow found his way into her room, and, through a bit of experimentation, found a way to start the stereo system. His face was flushed, either from the embarrassment he felt now, or from the fact that he was just previously dancing as if there was something trying to escape his pants. Mokuba was there too, but his age permitted him to feel no shame for his sudden outburst of rhythmic movement. Téa had fallen off of Kisara's bed, laughing to hard to breath. Kisara, leaning against the door frame, asked, "Having a good morning?"

Joey laughed, though it sounded more like he was being strangled, "K-Kisara! Good morning! Um, yeah, Mokuba asked how to work this thing, and well, I mean. . . It's a good song, ya know!" He was searching desperately to find something to counter her on. Then he looked down at her legs. He smiled a wolfish grin, "So, who comes to a party without pants on?"

"Hm?" Her eyes went wide as she realized what he meant. She saw Mokuba blushing. Thinking quick, she smirked, "Oh, I'm still wearing pants, it's just your imagination made me in my underwear so you could perform without being nervous."

"I thank my imagination, then."

"And I thank my stereo for letting me witness how flexible you could be, Joey." She slammed the door behind her, getting ready to storm into the living room, until she remembered she was still pantless.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Seto Kaiba had always been an early raiser. However, he didn't expect that he would wake up next to the same woman he had just previously been dreaming about. That had helped boost the waking up process, however he was surprised at how reluctant he was to leave her side. Sipping on the coffee Mahad had made before he and Yugi left for the airport had helped him calm down, in more ways than one, that morning. Then the noise started. Of course it was that idiot Wheeler's doing, but he was to tired to stop it. Besides, he had the more than suspicious feeling that he would make comments about his sudden disappearance from last nights little "gossip group". He took another sip, yelping when the coffee turned out to still be to hot after all.

Walking into the living room, he saw Noah had decided to watch the morning news. It was scary, watching him, to see how similar they were. Of course they looked alike, but he noticed that the seemed to act the same as well. Probably a side affect of Gozaboro's teaching ability. He never knew of another kid who would willingly watch the news at his age, save himself, and who understood what was being said, no less. Mokuba would always ask politely if he could change it to some cartoon that Seto could never really remember. Of course he would let him; his business usually occupied most of his attention.

He sat quietly on the chair to the left of the couch, where Noah sat, his eyes never leaving the screen. The news was blaring on and on about the lightening storm that had caused so much damage to the docks the other night. Of course, nothing else was being aired; once something catastrophic happened, you would hear about it for the next week or so. Seto leaned back, closing his eyes.

"That was our fault." The sudden voice coming into existence in the quiet room startled Seto, not to mention it was that of someone he presumed dead. Noah's eyes didn't leave the screen, "The lightening storm. That was because of us."

"Was it?" Seto smirked, "Well then, I guess I know who to send the bill to."

Noah raised an eyebrow, "Really? A lot of good that would do you, since we are in the same family."

"The fact that you and _father_ are supposed to bed dead would cause quite a problem, as well." It was quiet again, but this time it was more uncomfortable. Sighing, Seto asked, "What do you mean, that was you?"

There was something strange about the boy's eyes then. There was a hint of fear, uncertainty, "It's what I first remembered, when I woke up. Smoke and fire, screaming, the lightening cracking above my head. . ." He trailed off, Noah's hands visibly shaking.

Seto bit his lip, unsure of what to do. The boy was clearly frightened, but he was _Noah_! Then he remembered what Mokuba had said last night. Sighing, he got up and sat next to Noah, cautiously reaching out his hand to the boy. A tear ran down his face, and Seto pulled him closer to himself, like he had done so many times for Mokuba, "Hey, it's going to be alright. Come on, there's no need for tears."

It was unnerving to see Noah act so, well, human. He hiccuped, "I'm sure you're enjoying this, aren't you? Seeing me show weakness like this."

"Am I laughing?" Noah didn't answer, "Then no, I don't find this funny at all. It just proves to me that you are indeed human, not some made-up computer program." He looked down to see Noah was watching him, "We'll sort this out, sooner or later, I promise."

A strange smile spread across the boy's face, "No wonder Mokuba chose you over me." Noah leaned away from him, wiping his eyes, "You're a good older brother, Seto." He didn't answer, instead Seto chose to let the awkward silence settle.

It didn't last long.

The music which had been muffled before now blared loudly into the living room, followed quickly by what sounded like Wheeler being strangled by his own voice, accompanied by laughter from Mokuba and that Téa girl. _Kisara must be awake,_ he thought, smiling. Then he heard something along the lines of "where are your pants?" and he almost laughed out loud. He heard Kisara's high pitched voice, followed by a swift slamming of the door. He half expected to see her walk out into the living room with just that shirt on, however she seemed to realize she was missing pants. Shaking his head, Seto leaned back, feeling the need to drink more coffee.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The airport was huge. Mahad had never liked crowded places, let alone really busy, noisy, crowded places. Yugi seemed to pick up on this, and stayed close to him as they made their way through the lobby. He also stayed close because, to be honest, Mahad's height made it easier for him to make his way through the groups of people. Trying to concentrate on where he was going, Mahad barely heard Yugi ask, "So how long have you known Kisara?"

"Hm?" He seemed as though he'd been slapped awake, "Do what now?"

Yugi laughed, "You and Kisara. How long've you been friends?"

"It's a long story." Mahad sighed, almost tripping over some old woman's carry on.

He shrugged, "Well, we'll be waiting for another hour or so. . ."

"Another hour?!" His face was starting to turn green, "Oh man, I don't think I can take this place for another hour."

"If you don't mind me asking, what's with you and crowds?"

"You wanted to know how Kisara and I met, right?" The quick change in subject threw Yugi off, but he nodded in response. Looking around quickly, Mahad asked, "Which terminal are we supposed to wait at? I want to sit down before I start talking."

Yugi, noticing how he was becoming visibly more woozy, pointed to his right, "There, terminal twelve. They should be arriving in an hour or so."

"Who are these people, anyway?" A sly smirk traced his lips, "That Kaiba guy didn't seem to enthused."

"Kaiba. . ." Yugi scratched the back of his head, "Well, let's just say he's not a people person."

"Really? I would've never guessed."

The reached the terminal quickly enough, even though they had to dodge two very wide tourists that were blocking the entrance. Yugi had almost died after Mahad's "fire hazard" comment, though he quickly stopped laughing when the couple turned to glare at them. The seats were like any other airports', or so Mahad would have guessed. They were simple blue, plastic chairs lined up by a metal rod that made them stand up from the ground without the need for legs. A giant window to their right showed the landing strip; they would be able to tell whenever their guests had arrived. Mahad, choosing to sit as far away from the planes outside as possible, chose to sit to Yugi's left, his head almost between his legs.

Yugi, coughing into his hand, asked, "Well, do you feel like talking?"

Mahad shrugged, "There's not a lot to talk about, really. She was a weird one, I'll give her that." A strange smile appeared on his face, "She was the only girl in an all boy orphanage at one point, did you know that?"

He just shook his head, "How did that work?"

"Apparently she had pretended to be a boy, but I think the owner figured it out pretty quick. Not to mention there were some things she couldn't keep hidden forever." Mahad looked out the window, though his eyes seemed like he was looking much farther away than just the landing strip, "They sent her to where I was after some trouble with a few of the older boys. Apparently some douche bag named Sammy had tried to _touch_ her--" Yugi gasped, "Don't worry! She about kicked all of his teeth out. Although, that did cost her a home." Mahad smiled, "She said she didn't really miss it all that much though; the only friends she had over there were adopted a long time ago. . ." He ran his fingers through his hair, "I guess that was that Kaiba guy and his brother."

"So how did you meet?"

"Heh," Mahad's face held something that looked almost like embarrassment, "You asked me earlier why I didn't like crowds? Well, I got lost in a crowd once when I was a child. I just can't help myself; even to this day I get nervous. The day she was transferred to my orphanage was a day they had decided to take us on a field trip to the local city. Of course, I was stupid enough to not pay any attention to where I was going, and ended up getting lost. Well, as luck would have it, Kisara was pretty much in the same position, though she hid it a lot better than I did. She walked up to me, after seeing my name tag, and asked, 'Are you lost too?' I could only nod, to scared and embarrassed to actually form anything like words. She seemed to understand though, and just took my hand and told me to follow her." He was smiling warmly now, "Before we reached our group, she switched places with me and started to cry. I asked her what was wrong, and she said, 'Dummy! I'm trying to make you look cool! Now drag me back to everyone!' I couldn't argue with her, and she made it out as if I was the one who found her." He looked down at his hands, hiding his face, "We've looked out for each other ever since. She's," he sighed, "she's special."

"Mahad?"

The bell for the announcer came on, and in the distance you could hear the soft rumbling of the landing plane. Mahad's head perked up, and he looked as though he were straining to seem perky at the thought of the gigantic piece of metal falling at amazing speeds directly towards him, "I guess that's our guys, huh?"

"Y-yeah." Sensing that it was best to drop the subject, Yugi just sighed and stood, "I'm going to go wait by the gate. You wanna come?"

Mahad looked down at his seat, then back up at Yugi, "I better come with you. I'd probably get hopelessly lost if I didn't." They both laughed, though Mahad quickly added, "Uh, we don't tell Kisara about that, okay?"

"Yeah, I won't."

The entrance, or exit, depending on if you were coming or going, started to fill with people. Mahad just waited to see if Yugi recognized anyone, not really sure who he should be looking for. This went on for another fifteen or so minutes until he noticed a single woman walking through the doorway. She was dressed in exotic clothing, middle-eastern style by the look of it. She had lightly tanned skin, much like his own, though it held more of a femine glow to it, beautiful blue eyes blazing from beneath a golden headband. Her hair was raven black, flowing down to her mid-drift. Mahad stood there, stunned, as he stared at the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. She seemed to sense his stare, for she quickly shot him a glance, locking eyes with him. Even though his face was burning, Mahad couldn't look away. He was vaguely aware that Yugi was shouting something like, "Over here!"

His heart seemed to stop as he realized the woman was walking towards them, followed closely by two men. One was amazingly tall, the same dark skin but with intense golden eyes, strange tattoos flowing down one side of his face. His form was concealed in a very dark cloak, though his face was friendly enough. The second seemed closer to Yugi's age, though his height didn't match. The boy had the same tan skin as the woman, though his eyes were a light indigo color, his hair almost a platinum blond. His face was so feminine, that in fact if he hadn't heart the man talk, Mahad would have assumed he was a woman.

Yugi, smiling widely, opened his arms to greet the trio, "Marik, Ishizu, Odion! How are you guys?"

The woman smiled brightly, causing chills to go up Mahad's spine, "Yugi," she said in a sultry voice, "it has been to long."

"Marik would not stop complaining about leaving his motorcycle behind," the tall man said, a laugh lighting up his deep voice.

The blond, apparently Marik, didn't seem phased by the remark. Instead he smiled all the brighter, "I doubt I would've found much time to ride it anyway, Odion."

The woman, who Mahad had deduced as Ishizu, nodded in his direction, "And this is?"

"Oh, sorry guys," Yugi laughed, "this is a new friend of mine, Mahad. Mahad, this is Ishizu Ishtar and her brothers, Odion and Marik."

Ishizu's eyes held a strange gleam, "We are well met, Mahad." She bowed deeply, causing him to blush.

"U-um, yeah, you don't have to do that--" Mahad tried to speak clearly, but his mouth had suddenly gone extremely dry.

She smiled sweetly then, but just as fast turned to Yugi, her face turning strictly to business, "Now, you called us for some problem?"

"It's something Kaiba saw, er well, at least I think he saw. Anyway, he seemed disturbed enough by it to tell me about it, so I believe him." Yugi shrugged, "Though, I honestly don't know what he's talking about."

Marik started walking forward, "Well, we'll never find out if we stay here all day. Let's get going; people are starting to stare." Without a word, Odion began to follow. Quickly behind them Ishizu ran, trying to catch up, calling after them to wait on Yugi and Mahad.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Breakfast was a disaster. It wasn't that it didn't taste good, but because Kisara and Mokuba were having a little to much fun with the mixer. Pancake and waffle batter was spattered across the kitchen, to where it was almost impossible to tell what color the tiles were under the white, sticky ooze. The apartment smelled good though, and Joey and Seto had lost their rounds of rock-paper-scissors, so they had to clean up afterward. Seto just laughed from the couch, "If you can get me to work with Wheeler, that'll be an entirely different kind of win for you, Kisara."

"I can think of ways to make you do it, _Mr. Kaiba_," she said in an almost eerily sweet voice. Seto just laughed again, clearly ignoring the threat.

Noah ate his pancakes as if he'd not eaten in years, which, according to what she'd been told, was exactly the case. It gave her a warm feeling to know that he liked them so well. . . or maybe he was just so hungry he didn't care. To his left sat Joey, who hadn't come up for air since she laid the hot syrup down on the table. Every now and then he would bang on his chest, coughing, but she'd gotten over that scare long ago; that seemed to be his way of swallowing. Mokuba sat on the couch with his brother, eating his waffled while telling Seto to get something to eat between bites. Kisara wasn't the only one who was worried about him this morning.

Tristan and Téa both had to go to their jobs, yet even though they were missing the tiny apartment was almost filled to capacity. The thought that soon three more additions would be coming over made Kisara wonder if the floor would give out. Sighing, she decided that she should probably start on the kitchen, since it was pretty obvious no one else was going to clean it. She was just about to put the first dishes away when she noticed Seto had left his seat. Frowning, she asked, "Hey, where'd Seto go--oh!" There was a loud clack beside her as Seto put his coffee cup in the sink. Taking the sink rag that was in laying on the counter, Kisara wiped it full force at his arm, "Don't do that! You scared me!"

He merely grinned, "Maybe you should try not to be so easily startled."

"Maybe _you_ should learn some manners?" He started to walk away, but she quickly wrapped the towel around his neck, pulling gently, "And just where do you think you're going?"

"Well, I obviously wouldn't want to frighten you further with my presence."

She jerked quickly, nearly knocking him into her. She tried on his trademark grin, "Oh no, you're not going anywhere, buddy." He turned to face her, an eyebrow raised, "What, you think you can just come into the war zone and not lend a helping hand? You're stuck here now, mister."

Seto's face grew more serious, "Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've had to do housework?"

She got up in his face, which was difficult, since she had to stand on her tip-toes, "It's like riding a bike; you never forget."

"I didn't eat anything, so this mess isn't mine," he answered cooly, inching his face closer to hers.

Kisara pushed him back, pretending to cry, "I know, and it deeply hurt me that you wouldn't try my cooking. So, you owe me. Start wiping down the counter over there, or if you want, gather up the dishes that everyone left behind."

"What?" And to his surprise, everyone that had previously been sitting at the table or living room had vanished, the only sign that it had been occupied were the dirty dishes left in their wake. "This is humiliating," he grumbled, disappearing briefly only to return with a stack of sticky plates, the sound of a GameCube shooting to life echoing in the distance.

"Why is it humiliating?" Kisara asked, a sour note to her voice, "I do this as a living, you know."

"Yes, but you're not a multi-million dollar company owner who has enough money to pay people like you to do it for them." He dropped the dishes in the soapy water, suds flying everywhere. He growled in annoyance as a big blob of bubbles landed in his hair.

Kisara laughed, reaching up to remove the mess, "Well, think of it as an opportunity to get to know your employees better. Besides," she lowered the bubbles to her face, blowing gently, "it can be fun with more than one person helping." She giggled as the tiny bubbles floated through the air. They popped along the ceiling, leaving little holes where it hit the batter splotches, "Oh," she frowned, "I'm just making a bigger mess, aren't I?"

Smiling, Seto teased, "You know, you act like a little kid."

"Uh huh, this coming from a man who makes all his money on childrens' toys." She felt his arms wrap around her stomach then, "Seto?"

His chin rested on her head, Seto breathed in deeply, "I wish I could act like you." They were silent for what seemed like forever, the only sound was of someone being blown out of the ring on Super Smash Brothers.

Kisara placed her hands on Seto's, "What happened to you, Seto? It's almost as if you're afraid to act your age." She felt him tense, and his breathing seemed to grow tight. She turned, hugging him fiercely, "Nevermind, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

His body shuddered, and in a weak, tortured voice he whispered, "I . . . don't want you, or anyone, to know. It's not that I don't trust you," he leaned out of their embrace, only far enough so he could see her eyes, "I just, I'm not. . ."

She kissed him lightly on the cheek, "I said, don't worry about it. Just know that you're never alone, Seto. I'll be here for you," she smiled, "and if you can't find me, I'm sure Mokuba will be more than happy to be there for you."

His hand left her side to find her face. Tracing the outline of her jaw, he gently directed her towards his lips, kissing her lightly. He whispered her name, then with a hunger he kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him find whatever comfort he could in their embrace. Seto lifted her up to the counter, as if she weighed no more than a doll. They kissed for another moment or so until Kisara started to giggle. Not really sure what was so funny, but unwilling to stop either, Seto just continued their episode, until she nibbled on his lip. He pulled away, gasping, "What?"

"I'm pretty sure I have pancake batter all over my butt right about now."

"What--?" He looked down, blushing as he noticed the puddle of pale ooze he'd placed her on. Lifting her down almost as quickly as he had placed her up there, he muttered, "Sorry."

She smirked in response, "This just means you _really_ have to help me clean now."

Seto, his arms pinning her between himself and the counter, smiled slyly, "Oh, I don't mind cleaning _you_ up--"

"We're home!" The front door slammed open, and Yugi was the first to step through. The sound of multiple carry-ons flopping on the floor echoed through the hallway. Kisara, blushing wildly, ducked under Seto's long arms and stumbled to the door to help, calling, "H-hang on! I'm coming!"


End file.
